Sarabi
by The Dishwasher
Summary: COMPLETE: Sarabi's life, starting right from the beginning, through the story we all know and love, and beyond...
1. The Princess is Born

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!   
Author's Note: I think Sarabi and a few other lionesses look like they don't belong in the Pride Lands. So I came up with a reason, which morphed into a story. Enjoy!

Sarabi  
Chapter 1 – The Princess is born

Under the welcoming shade of the acacia trees there lay a dusky lioness, guarding with her life a small bundle of fur in her paws. This bundle was soft and warm, and was about to witness its first morning in the Star pride, for lion cubs are born with their beautiful eyes wide, wide open.  
The mother licked the cub's tiny nose, and smiled to herself as its face wrinkled up at the contact.   
"Come now, love, wake up. Enjoy the morning."   
It was a gloriously hot morning, just the right kind of morning to become the first one that one sees upon opening one's eyes. The grass and tree leaves were dancing gently in the barely there African breeze, and songbirds greeted the newborn with their matinee choir.   
And, right on cue, the child of Queen Aurora woke up and blinked, and looked.

A paleish sort of face came into focus, long whiskers and golden eyes, an orchid coloured leathery nose, a smiling mouth full of brilliant white sharp teeth and a rose rough tongue, which so rudely interrupted the first dream only moments before. And then a voice, one which sounded familiar, and comforting, and stern and loving all at once, which was saying soft things that were still beyond understanding, this was the image the cub saw first of all. This was Aurora, its mother. 

The cub transferred its gaze upwards, towards an intense blue something, with white wisps of something else, and with a turn of the neck there were suddenly swirls of green, and brown, and down on the ground there was more green, all thick and shiny to look at, and over in the distance there was some yellow, and this scenery stretched for as far as the newborn's eyes could see. 

"Welcome to the Star pride, my sweet," purred Aurora, "I am your mother, and you are-" 

"Aurora!" thundered a voice to the left, and the lioness broke off and turned her head towards the speaker, "Eve told me the cub is female."   
"This is true, but-"  
"I need an heir, Aurora. I won't be here forever."   
"But won't you even see her? Won't you look at her?" 

The owner of the voice, King Storm, hesitated for a moment.   
"Storm, won't you see your own daughter?" 

The plea and disappointment in his mate's voice pushed the hesitation aside, and Storm pawed over to underneath the tree where mother and child lay. He intently looked at the cub over Aurora's shoulder.   
The cub now saw a more angular face, and it was darker and coarser. A mane so black that it made night look ghostly white surrounded it and piercing eyes made contact with those of the cub's.   
Storm had good reason to be concerned over the lack of a male heir, as only the males of Royal Blood could become Kings of the Star pride. A daughter, although she would have the title of Princess, would have no power, and if there were no males, as Storm worried would happen eventually, then the pride would be taken over. With that would come cub slaying and new laws, and Storm didn't want to put his lionesses through it. 

Of course, any cub is a miracle, and the King understood this perfectly. He smiled at the little cub, at his daughter, and silently thanked the Gods. The cub stared back at him with her large eyes, and also smiled. It means a lot to a father when a child gifts its first smile to him. Storm bent down, and licked first his daughter, and then his Queen.   
He remained close to his family, entranced by his child, for some time, and when the cub started to doze off, he rubbed his head against Aurora's affectionately, and asked,   
"What are we going to call her?" 

Aurora had already thought of a name. Ever since she conceived, she could feel the cub was a girl, and a name appeared out of the cloudy thoughts of her mind, as clear as the silhouette of the mountain against the full moon. She looked down at the sleepy cub, and knew the name would fit.   
"Sarabi. That's her name. Sarabi." 

Storm nodded, and thought this was a very fitting name for a little lion as beautiful as his daughter, whilst the cub heard this word over and over, Sarabi, Sarabi, Sarabi. What could it possibly be? And only when the warm voice said it again, whilst looking at the cub that she understood: That's me. 


	2. Star Pride Life

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!   
Author's Note: I think Sarabi and a few other lionesses look like they don't belong in the Pride Lands. So I came up with a reason, which morphed into a story. Enjoy!

Sarabi   
Chapter 2 – Star Pride Life

The following day, Aurora and Sarabi joined the creche, consisting of five mothers and seven cubs of various ages, though none as young as the Princess, but some almost old enough to hunt by themselves.  
"Aww!" the lionesses would say, "Isn't that a beautiful little girl? Isn't she small? She reminds me of mine when she was just a baby," and Aurora would nod and complement the pride lionesses about their own children. The creche was not just a peculiarity of the Star Pride, but a way of life for all prides, as it kept the cubs safe and supervised, and the mothers could catch up on the gossip and leave the other lionesses to hunt. And of course cub-sitting was widely practised, for what sane lioness would want to be tied down with noisy children all day long?   
The cubs all got on well with each other as well, although the oldest ones would generally leave the youngest ones out of their more complex and more daring games. Lionesses would prevent any arguments with a sharp roar and maybe a smack of the paw, and peace would usually follow.   
Sarabi grew up with the same routine every day: she would get up early, and talk to her father, then go join the creche, sometimes with her mother, sometimes without, and every few days or so there would be a Big Kill, like a zebra or a gnu, and the pride would eat in rank order, although Storm usually let his daughter through. After dinner, Sarabi would have some free time, but before long Aurora's call would be heard, and it would be time for bed with the sunset.   
Creche was still the biggest part of Sarabi's young life, and she made good friends there. They would often play together during creche and after dinner, and of course they had lots of exciting cub adventures, such as discovering a stream beyond the Acacia Garden, and tree climbing, and playing tag. Although Sarabi was treated equally amongst the cubs, she did find it unfair that some of the other cubs got to do things she couldn't. For instance, Sarabi and her friends found some cheetah cubs in the grassy savannah one hot afternoon. Their mother had hidden them in the tall yellow shoots, away from the eyes of ill meaning predators. The cubs were quite timid at first, but soon all were enjoying a game of leapcat. Sarabi had never met cats other than lions in this way: she had seen glimpses of spotted felines such as leopards and cheetahs discussing matters with her father, but never played with any cubs of her age. And just as Sarabi was leaping over the boy cub, there was a loud roar. The Princess was very unceremoniously carried back to the Star Pride by the scruff of her neck. After a tedious lecture about talking to strangers (although Sarabi argued that they were only cubs) the little lioness found out that her friends were playing with the cheetahs again. Upset, she complained to Storm, who sat her down and explained that lion and cheetah cubs playing together was a good sign for the relations between the species, but what would animals say if they saw the daughter of the King playing with some cheetahs? There was always something in Sarabi's way, however small that obstacle was, and she slowly realised she was never completely free to do as she pleased. Nonetheless, Sarabi grew up happy and strong, and utterly free of responsibilities. Then, one day, she awoke to the smell of Thompsons Gazelle blood under her nose, and sure enough, there lay an appetising corpse. The lioness cub felt a nudge on her shoulder and turned her head to see Aurora. 

"Morning, my sweet," purred the Queen, "How are you this morning?" 

Sarabi found all this rather odd, as hunting was usually not done until late afternoon when the sun's heat was more or less bearable. She licked her lips and then her mother's cheek.   
"I am well. But what is the meaning of this?"   
Queen Aurora smiled and cocked her head,   
"Today is an important day. Do you know what it is?"   
Sarabi's silence answered her mother's question easily, and the pale lioness chuckled.   
"One year ago today, a very special thing happened to me, your father and the pride," beamed the Queen. Seeing that the cub was still uncomprehending, Aurora tried again.   
"Today is your first birthday, my love. You are one year old. Here – this gazelle is a gift from your father and me, just as you were a gift to us." 

After the lovely fresh gazelle meat, Sarabi was called to talk to her father. She sat down on the springy grass and listened carefully to what he had to say.   
"Sarabi," Storm began, "Today is one year since you were born. In another year's time, you will no longer be a cub. As the Princess of the Star Pride, it is time for you to start learning how to hunt, how to look after the small cubs, and how to rule the Pride."   
"But I thought I could never rule…" she started in surprise, and stopped after a glare from Storm.   
"Do not interrupt your elders when they talk, Sarabi, you are old enough to know better. In answer to your question, no, you cannot rule by yourself, but as soon as you are grown, your mother and I will want your involvement in governing the Pride to help us make the best decisions in terms of hunting, territory, rogues and so on." 

And that day, Princess Sarabi received her first lesson, the bitter lesson which signalled the last half of childhood and the beginnings of adolescence. As spring came, she was no longer the youngest in the creche, as the new arrivals joined. The older cubs that were in when she was the littlest there were now mothers, and it were their children chasing each others tails on the plains. Unexpectedly, there came a surprise for the Princess, a sudden announcement from Aurora.   
"Sarabi my dear," she said, "You are going to have a little brother or sister anytime soon." And the Princess scolded herself for not realising her mother's condition any earlier. A week rolled by, and the mystery was solved – the new Royal cub was a male, and Storm was over the moon.   
An heir at last. The Pride would be in safe paws. The blood line of the King would go on.   



	3. Revelation and Love

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!  
Author's Note: I think Sarabi and a few other lionesses look like they don't belong in the Pride Lands. So I came up with a reason, which morphed into a story. Enjoy! 

Sarabi  
Chapter 3: Revelation and love

Sarabi was excited about the arrival of her little brother, but she wondered why everybody was making such a fuss. The Prince was presented formally to the Pride, accompanied by the seven roar salute, only performed at the most special of occasions. Bitterly, the Princess noted that there was no such salute on her first birthday, and had she been able to remember her infancy, she would have been even more disappointed to learn that there was no formal presentation for her either. 

The cub looked nothing like his big sister. Whilst Sarabi's appearance was inherited mostly from Storm, the Heir had a softer fur colour, similar to that of Aurora, and eyes of such a pale yellow that when he looked up to the heavens the stronger blue dominated and reflected in them. Both Storm and Aurora came up with the same name for their son, which fitted him rather well.  
The son of King Storm and Queen Aurora, the Prince and Heir of the Star Pride and the would-be future ruler was named Sky. 

As much as she loved her brother, Sarabi noticed some changes a few weeks after he was born. Aurora was busy nursing, and did not have much time spare, other than to hunt every so often, and Storm was occupied with arrangements for the future King. Sky did not attend the creche from dawn until dusk like the Princess did, but only from mid morning until mid afternoon. And then one day, when she walked to the watering hole, by herself, she was quite old enough, the animals there would not part to let her through.  
"Excuse me," she started politely, "but could you let me drink? I am very thirsty."  
A big gnu slowly raised its head and turned around.  
"And who might you be, little girl, that you cannot wait your turn?"  
Sarabi felt a rush of pride running through her small body. She straightened up and said, as regally as she could, "I am Princess Sarabi, daughter of the King of the Star Pride, the soon to be co-ruler of this territory."  
There was a pause amidst the animals, and then the gnu laughed, soon being accompanied by the rest.  
"I will let you drink because you made me laugh today, child. But you shouldn't be making such things up."  
Sarabi gazed at the antelope with her unbelieving dark eyes.  
"Everybody knows that the Heir to the throne is the young Prince Sky." Lost for words and unable to look at the laughing animals, Sarabi ran from the pool of water, all the way back to the acacias where the Star Pride rested. Aurora dozed next to Sky. Storm was not to be seen. Sarabi nudged her mother's neck.  
"Mhhhmm?" said the Queen sleepily.  
"Mother, I have to ask you an important question."  
"Can it wait until dusk, my sweet? It is too hot for questions."  
"Mother, it worries me. I must ask you now."  
Aurora yawned, and her neat, deadly teeth gleamed in the sunlight. Still lying outstretched on the ground, she turned her head to see her anxious daughter.  
"What, my child, what is it?"  
"I was at the watering hole just now. A gnu told me that the Heir to the lands is Sky. Is this true?"  
The Queen looked sad for a moment. "Yes," she replied.  
"Sarabi, the Star Pride is one with a foundation of tradition. It has been running for generations, and we are powerless to change it. The only lion who can is your father, but he does not want to. You are the first born, and had you been male, you would have been the Heir. But only the sons of Royal Blood can be the Heirs. That is Sky."  
"And me?" asked Sarabi, "Father said he would need me to help him and you to govern the land."  
"That was before the birth of your brother, dear. Now, he will rule by himself, and he will choose a Queen out of the Pride. That is how I was chosen when your father became King. I do not agree with this, Sarabi, but I can't do anything to change these ancient laws. There are other prides which operate on a Firstborn rule, but the Star Pride is reluctant to change. But you remain the Princess. Nothing can take that away from you."

Suddenly, Sarabi felt useless, small and insignificant. Her parents spent less time with her, and more with Sky. She was approaching two, and was nearly fully grown. Not all was bad, however. She was in Hunting Group A, the best trainee hunter out of the elite few young lionesses, and she was readily gaining and using skills taught to them by the adult hunters. She had already managed to make a kill with a partner, but she had yet to go out on her own. She couldn't do that until she turned two years of age, but she was getting all the practice she could. In addition to this, she felt a lot closer to her friend from creche, Dusk. He was a few months older than her and had already made his first kill. She found she was thinking about him a lot more, and she enjoyed being around him. He was funny and brave, and his eyes glistened when he talked. He made her feel important. Like she was significant, and useful. To him, it didn't matter that she would never rule the Pride. Secretly she thought when she was old enough, she and Dusk would start their own pride, elsewhere in the Savannah. One day in the wet season, they went out for some more hunting practice, for Sarabi's birthday was only a few weeks away. She managed to pin down a rabbit quite easily in spite of the rain, but of course had to let it go, as she couldn't kill yet. Dusk was impressed. It took him two attempts to get his first kill, which was a bit embarrassing for him, and his older sister made a lot of fun out of him afterwards. His paws sinking in the muddy grass, he padded over to Sarabi, who lay down to rest after the chase to congratulate her.  
"That was very good," he said, "Incredibly good. But you could try edging closer to the prey before you sprint."  
Sarabi sat up tiredly, and looked at him. The rain fell down his fur and his eyes glistened even more so than usual. She didn't know why she felt like saying it, but she did,  
"You always look beautiful when you run."  
Dusk smiled sheepishly, and then replied in a soft voice,  
"You always look beautiful."   
And that afternoon in the ever pouring rain that was so welcome after the long drought, Sarabi had her first kiss with the lion she thought she would love forever. 


	4. Heartbreak

Sarabi  
Chapter 4: Heartbreak

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!  
Author's Note: I think Sarabi and a few other lionesses look like they don't belong in the Pride Lands. So I came up with a reason, which morphed into a story. Enjoy!

Sarabi and Dusk were from then on almost inseparable. She didn't tell her parents, or rather they didn't ask, perhaps because they were occupied with Sky, perhaps because they already knew. But that worked for the Princess, whenever the King and Queen were busy she would go for long walks with Dusk, and talk about silly things, and important things, and they would look at the glorious African sky, which was of different colours at different times of the day. Then they would rest under baobab trees, and lie next to each other. Sarabi felt secure and peaceful when she was with Dusk. She was very much in love.  
Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. Dusk started the subject first,  
"My mane is almost fully grown, Sarabi."  
"It's lovely," she replied.  
"When it is fully grown, I will have to leave Star Pride."  
Her eyes widened faced with the sudden prospect of losing Dusk. "No," she whispered, "No, no, no…"  
She lifted her large, scared eyes up to him,  
"I will ask father. He will let you stay if I ask. I don't want you to leave, Dusk."  
"I don't want to leave you either," he told her, but knew that she would not be able to change the tradition.

Storm was in the middle of teaching the Circle of Life to Sky when his flustered daughter ran toward him. Sky paused in answering a question, and turned around to see what was going on.  
"Father," said Sarabi heavily, panting after her sprint, "I must talk to you."  
"Must you talk now, Sarabi? I am teaching Sky."  
"It won't take long," she persisted, "and it is very important to me."  
The King sat down, and nodded for her to continue.  
"You know Dusk, father? The darkish lion? Well, he and I, we've sort of become friends, you see. More than friends. But he told me today that soon he will get his full mane. And-"  
"And he will have to leave," Storm finished the sentence for her.  
"No!" she cried. The negotiation was not going her way at all, "Can you let him stay?"  
"Only if he fights me and kills me, Sarabi. Those are the rules."  
"But I love him!"  
"You do not know what that is at your age. He will forget you, and you him. He will leave."  
Sarabi looked away for a moment, and an idea came into her head. She boldly looked into her father's eyes.  
"Then I will leave with him."  
"No!" roared Storm, and the ground resonated, "You will do no such thing!"  
"But-"  
"Do not interrupt! Whoever heard of a Princess leaving with a rogue?"  
"Some Princess," she growled furiously, "The animals don't even know I exist! I'm not even going to get a say in how these lands are ruled! I can't even be with the lion I love!"  
Storm leapt to his feet, and bristled. His tail swung warningly about his sides, "You are of Royal Blood! You are the Princess! Your duty is to look after your brother, not to run off with some lion at the first opportunity! You are forbidden from seeing him, Sarabi! I will see to it that he never tutors you how to hunt again."  
He stalked away, leaving Sarabi hurt, angry and tearful. Sky, who had observed the argument, rubbed his small head against his sister's body affectionately.  
"I have never seen Father so angry," he said, "He has never shouted at me like that."  
To Sarabi, this was no revelation at all.

Still, she continued to meet Dusk in secret. They celebrated her second birthday, for which she got no antelope from her mother, no lecture from her father. They said their congratulations to her, and passed by. However, Hunting Group A cheered for her as she neatly and almost professionally killed a zebra foal. This was the privilege she had not been allowed to have, to kill by herself, and hearing the foal's heart stop as she tightened her jaws round its neck was satisfying. She was an adult lioness, and now she would be taken on the real hunts. It was enthralling, right from the stealthy stalk, to the chase, to the kill. And she did it all by herself. Dusk was proud of her too. He got her a rabbit as a birthday gift. She licked his leathery nose in gratitude.  
"They think they can stop me from being with you, Dusk, but they can't. I love you. If you can't stay then I will leave."  
"They won't let you leave, Sarabi. I love you too, so much, but I can't let you come with me."  
"But I won't be any trouble! I am a good huntress. I can look after myself."  
Dusk sighed, "You are a great huntress, Sar. But this is something I have to do by myself. Like a First Hunt, but bigger. I have to leave, and you have to stay. I wish it could be different, but my mane is proper now. Any day I will hear the orders from your father…"  
"Oh please let me come!" she begged, "I can't live without you by my side!"  
Dusk did not say a word, only kissed her sadly in the secrecy of the undergrowth.

The following day, when Sarabi tried to find Dusk, his sister told her he had gone, without waiting to hear the orders from Storm. He left in the night, and nobody knew which direction he set out in. The Princess spent the day patrolling the lands in hope of finding him, and the evening weeping bitterly for her lost love. Dusk had left the Pride without even saying goodbye to her, all because of some meaningless tradition. And the more she thought about her father, the more angry she got, the more she despised him. When Storm asked her why she was crying, she swallowed the hate, but it stuck thickly in her throat.   
"I hurt my paw," she said dryly, but the King did not ask her any more questions.


	5. The Hunt

Sarabi  
Chapter 5: The Hunt

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!  
Author's Note: Thanks to all my reviewers, I'm glad you like this!

The days went by, and Sarabi gained more and more hunting expertise. She was by far the most promising young huntress that Star Pride had ever seen, such was the praise of Eve, the Trainee Hunting Party Leader, who had occupied the post for a long time, and so had many lionesses to compare Sarabi to. Rumours were even starting to spread that Sarabi would eventually be better than Aurora. The Queen took great pleasure in the hunt, and was the official Head of the Elite Hunting Party. She was famous throughout other lion Prides, such as the Riverside Pride, the Hilltop and even the Pridelands. But now, Sarabi's name got out too, and when Aurora found out about this, her reaction was somewhat unexpected.

One day, whilst training, Sarabi found that along with Eve, her mother was observing her performance. This was a surprise for the Princess, for Aurora would usually just congratulate her on her skills and successes, but not once had she attended Sarabi's hunting practice. Nevertheless, the young lioness carried on, deciding that she would show off her ability to her mother properly. To begin with, everything went by the rules. She approached the impala hiding herself in the brownish tall grass. Eve had always said that stalking was the hardest part, but Sarabi had to admit she agreed with her mother – the skill and precision was in the killing pounce.   
As silently as a snake she slithered through the grass, inching towards the herd. The wind was slight and in her favour, it gently carried her scent behind her and the antelope had no clue she was approaching fast. Just a pawstep further…  
Sarabi had already picked her prey, because being specific was the only way to guarantee a meal. The chosen impala was a little way away from the central mass of the animals and was thoughtlessly chewing on some grass. Sarabi raised her right paw, froze for an instant, bending back her ears and baring her teeth. When the instant was up, she sprinted.  
The impala almost immediately snapped up its head and raised its ears. It stood in its spot just long enough to see a lioness heading straight for it. With a cry that alerted the rest of the herd, the animal darted to the left, but the Princess was already gaining. Sarabi added a burst of speed and was moments away from making the killing pounce, but her adolescent curiosity took over and she just _had_ to turn her head slightly and look at her mother. What she saw was completely startling.

Aurora was leaning forward, a look of anger in her usually kind eyes. Her fur was bristly, and her mouth pulled back to reveal her perfect teeth clasped together in a gnarl. Eve was busy watching Sarabi and so didn't see the expression on the Queen's face. She was really quite furious. And in that particular, tiny, almost insignificant fraction of a second, mother and daughter stared at each other. Sarabi inwardly gasped. That was enough to skew the whole hunt that was going so perfectly before. Sarabi's tiny hesitation and shock steered her to the right, whilst the impala skidded to the left. The pounce was a mistake, and Sarabi only grazed the antelope's back with her claws. The latter stumbled, half fell, but as the lioness slid further, was able to get up again and run. Sarabi landed roughly, but luckily did not hurt herself. With a half roar she recovered and gave chase again. Seconds later she caught up with the escaped impala; the disbelief of what she saw when she and Aurora exchanged looks, the jealousy and rage that were there and the anger from the earlier miss fuelled Sarabi's pace. She concentrated solely on the prey, leapt, and crashed down on the antelope, jammed her jaws round its neck and squeezed. She shut her eyes tight, forcing her top and bottom jaw even closer together but only seeing the fire of her mother's glare, hating and envious and disobliging all at once… 

"Sarabi. Sarabi. Sarabi…"  
Where was that sound coming from?  
"Sarabi! You can let go now dear. You can let go."  
Slowly coming to and blinking, for the sunlight was extraordinarily blinding, Sarabi became increasingly aware of a lioness standing next to her. She realised that she was still gripping the impala corpse, and with some effort unclamped her jaws. The antelope dropped to the dry ground with a thud, its crimson blood leaking slowly over the tanned grass tufts and cracked soil. Sarabi breathed deeply, saying nothing, only turning to look at the owner of the voice. Eve repeated again,  
"It's alright dear. It's dead."  
"I know," acknowledged the Princess, "I slipped."  
Eve reassuringly rubbed Sarabi's head with hers,  
"Everyone does at some point. You aren't a true huntress if you never make a mistake. Otherwise how will you learn?"  
"Where is my mother?"  
"Right here," came Aurora's reply, and Sarabi looked to the right. The Queen wore a strange look on her face, as though she was pleased that Sarabi faulted the chase. Her expression was concerned, but her eyes gave it away, darting from side to side, satisfied and alive.  
"You missed by a little, my sweet," she purred in a honeyed tone, "It does not matter much."  
"I want to talk to you," said Sarabi icily, "I need to ask you a question."  
Aurora's eyes narrowed the smallest bit, but Sarabi noticed. The Queen nodded to Eve, who understood this was a private conversation, and padded a little way away, out of earshot.  
"You wanted me to miss," stated the Princess once she was sure that Eve was unable to hear the conversation. "You don't want me to hunt well."  
"That's not it at all child," snapped Aurora, swishing her tail, "I don't want you to hunt better than _me_."  
"I'm not a child," growled Sarabi after a pause, "I'm two and a half!"  
"And another year and a half to go before you are properly grown up! I am still young, my sweet. I am still strong. And I am still the best, do you understand?"  
Sarabi said nothing.  
"I don't want the talk at the watering hole to continue. Do you know what they say? They say that the Queen is not as able as she used to be. That she should be replaced. The birds tell me I am the laughing stock of the Hilltop lionesses: a mother whose cub outdoes her at hunting. But it's just not true!" she hissed, "It's not true!"  
"Not anymore," assured Sarabi passively, "Not anymore."  
Aurora's features softened and her eyes became more sincere. The false air she had about herself faded, and all that was left was a paleish, duskyish lioness, who tilted her head and looked deep into her daughter's auburn eyes.  
"I do love you, Sarabi, my sweet, dear child. You have to know that. I really do."  
For the second time Sarabi said nothing, but dutifully gave her mother a kiss.

Neither mother nor daughter spoke about that day, and although everything seemed to have been solved, their relation remained somewhat strained since then. 


	6. The Council of Storm

Sarabi  
Chapter 6: The Council of Storm

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!  
Author's Note: I think Sarabi and a few other lionesses look like they don't belong in the Pride Lands. So I came up with a reason, which morphed into a story. Enjoy!

The wet season arrived once more, and the Princess of the Star Pride recalled the memories she had left of her and Dusk in the rains, and sighed. She was growing, not bigger, but stronger and leaner. After all, she was approaching three. Her hunting remained good, but she made sure to do less well than the Queen. Being the best in her group and being the Best were separate things, and suppressing her skills had not proved to be nearly as difficult as she had thought. What had turned out to be hard was living without Dusk. Especially now that the rain was soaking into her dark fur and the clouds were heavily cast over the sky, she felt particularly miserable and melancholy. Where was he? Who was he with? She secretly hoped that Dusk would become the King of a pride somewhere. Then he would not be just any rogue. He would be worthy of her in Storm's eyes, and she would be allowed to be with him. This fickle thought kept her going and she clung to it with her ever increasing strength. 

Nevertheless, her responsibilities carried on, she looked after the younger Star Pride members, hunted, patrolled, chased away hyenas and helped her parents bring up Sky. In short, she did everything everyone wanted her to do, and in doing so was respected and liked by all the Pride. The only lion not to be satisfied with her helpful behaviour was herself.  
As she sat in the glistening with rain Acacia Garden, listening to the heavy sound the raindrops made on the leaves, she thought about how her wishes were never realised. How she made everybody else comfortable forgoing her own happiness. How she was unable to get what she wanted.   
This is it. The reward I get is the wellbeing of others. This is my life. 

She noticed that her father was meeting more and more with the Pridelands King, King Ahadi. The two would often be seen walking around the Star Pride's territory, submerged deep in discussion. She only had the knowledge from the lionesses' speculations: that King Storm was about to make a very important decision. Even Aurora seemed to know little about what was going on. The Pride lived in suspense, but they carried on with their duties, as always. Only, whilst hunting, Sarabi observed that there was progressively less prey. Whereas a season ago she would only have to look for ten minutes or so before coming across a herd or prey of some sort, but now the search could take hours. Others noticed this too, and Aurora became slightly worried. She would talk to her mate, but the King would only express his concern and say nothing of the frequent and lengthy transpride meetings he was holding. 

"Sarabi," asked Sky, "Do you know what is going on? Father and King Ahadi seem to be talking a lot. I want to know what's happening. I heard something about exchange at one time, but I don't know what it was."  
"Maybe they want to exchange prey for the rabbit meadow. I know it's empty now, but you can count on the rabbits to multiply."  
Sky shrugged. "Anyhow," he said (it was his favourite word, and he made sure to use it often), "Teach me to pounce again, sis."  
"But you don't need to, silly. The lionesses hunt for you."  
Sky straightened up, "I still want to be able to hunt well myself."  
The Princess slouched bitterly hearing those words.  
"Me too," she whispered to no one in particular.  
"What's all that about me having to choose a Queen anyhow?" asked Sky, a little unnerved.   
"Don't worry about that yet. When you ascend, you choose a lioness from the Pride to be your Queen. She will be your mate, and you will make the next Heir. But she will also be your companion, your friend, your lover, your soul…" she broke off trying not to cry, for she was thinking of Dusk.  
"Yeuch!" exclaimed Sky, "All the girls are horrid. They pull my tail and say silly things. All they care about is whether their whiskers are curly or straight."  
Sarabi, unable to help herself, laughed,  
"Isn't there one that you like?"  
Sky gave her a look which needed no words, and Sarabi laughed again.

Time crawled, and the food shortage now lasted not hours, but a third day came when the hunters caught nothing: there was nothing to be caught.   
Oh please Dusk, come and take me away from here. Come and save us all, thought the Princess.  
Salvation arrived that evening, but not in the form of the sweet-natured dark lion that Sarabi had hoped for. 

Storm called a council.  
As usual, he and Aurora sat regally, Sarabi to their left and Sky to the right. He was starting to get his mane, and was quite proud of the pale down that grew at the top of his head and just behind his ears. Semi circling the Royal Family, in four rows, sat the lionesses and cubs, according to age and status, starting from the powerful lions, then the hunters, working in to the eldest and then the youngest, for in case of attack, the strongest on the outside would be able to protect those who were weaker.  
Storm's deep voice thundered through the flat evening plains of the Star Pride. The Pride was silent, as, it seemed, were the other animals, and the wind. The echo made him sound more serious, and perhaps sombre.  
"I will tell you what you know and do not know," Storm was saying, "We are a large Pride, by far the largest on this side of the river. We grow in size still. Yet the land that we occupy does not: what is not ours belongs to the neighbouring Prides. There are not enough resources to sustain us. There is not enough food to feed us. We cannot find prey because we have killed it, and it has left. We are too many, they are too few. This is the heart of the problem that faces us.  
Now what you do not know. King Ahadi of the Pridelands and I have been discussing this situation. It seems that our Pride is not the only one with a dilemma to threaten survival. The Pridelands suffer the opposite problem. They are too few in number. A mother and her two young cubs have died in the past season. Before that, a lioness carrying cubs was killed hunting. But their hunting space is vast and plentiful, with a variety of prey and plants."  
Sarabi was following her father's speech with interest. She visited the Pridelands once, accompanying her father, before Sky was born. King Ahadi had a son – some buffoonish yellow cub, who made fun of the rims on her ears. She remembered there was a big rock formation, where the pride lived, and although she never went up there she thought about how great it would be to look down on the beautiful lands from there. She wondered what her father and King Ahadi had decided on.  
"We came to the conclusion that the Pridelands need lionesses and we need land. We have agreed on a trade."  
There was an inadvertent gasp across the lions. A trade? Swapping lives for land? Was the King serious?   
He was. If Storm did not take the decision to do so, those lives would have been lost to the lack of food. The Pride hung onto Storm's next words: who would leave?  
"We chose the land and lionesses carefully. We receive a dozen acres altogether, nearer the river which includes the zebra residential territory. In exchange three of you will go and join the Pridelands. Dawn, Eve, and Sarabi."

"…and Sarabi."  
Those words sealed her fate. Too stunned to say anything at the council, she paid no attention to the murmurs rising from the crowd of lions, to Dawn looking at Storm in an apprehensive way, to Eve gazing sadly at the land around her.  
Dusk won't know where to find me, she thought, how can I ever see him again?  
"No." said a shaking yet forceful voice next to her, "No."  
Aurora set her jaw, "You are not sending away my daughter, Storm. I won't let you."  
A tan lioness stepped forward, this was Dawn's mother.  
"My son has already had to leave, Storm! Must my daughter leave me too?"  
"End of council," roared Storm, and answered no more questions to the angry lionesses that evening.


	7. Conversations in the Night

Sarabi

Chapter 7: Conversations in the Night

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!! 

Author's Note: I think Sarabi and a few other lionesses look like they don't belong in the Pride Lands. So I came up with a reason, which morphed into a story. Enjoy!

Storm roared at the lionesses and did not answer their questions, neither did he said a word to Aurora as she disbelievingly stared at him, hurt by his decision. She wanted answers, they all did. What they couldn't understand that this was the only hope for survival. Storm was avoiding any sort of conversation because he blamed himself. It was his fault that he strayed out of balance. When one is King, the environment hangs by a thread, a thread that he spins. Like a spider, he has control over it, but he can let it go too far. And that was exactly what Storm had done. The Star Pride grew in size, but the prey failed to multiply with it. Secret tears stung his eyes, because beneath the steely frame of the King, there was a Father about to lose a daughter, and he remembered her birth, and her first smile, the one that was intended just for him. How could he have let the situation come to this? These guilty, underlying thoughts kept him awake until well after nightfall.

It must have been only a few minutes after he had finally fallen asleep that Storm was woken from his slumber by a continuous, irritating sound. It seemed as though the wind blew in a series of ongoing, sharp gusts, shaking the leaves in the trees above. He listened closer, and started, as he understood that it was not the wind at all, but the sobbing of a lioness. The King did not move, but glanced round the sleeping Pride, his eyes had quickly adjusted to the night, and had you been walking there then, my friend, you would have seen two coal bright dots scanning the surroundings watchfully. It didn't take long for him to locate a lioness who was not asleep, whose whole body shook and who tried to keep her crying as quiet as possible. Storm lifted his head up, his black mane made it so heavy that getting up after being asleep was not the easiest thing to do. The grass beneath him rustled, a lioness murmured something in her sleep somewhere, and there was a sudden intake of breath and the sobs subsided. Storm froze. He saw the crying lioness's ears move from round the front of her head to the back: she was listening out if anyone had woken. Her fractured breathing got progressively louder after she made sure all were still sleeping, and smoothly changed to the sobs that woke up the King in the first place. Next to Storm, Aurora was peacefully resting, one paw draped protectively over Sky, the other delicately placed under her chin. After a moment of a contented glance over his mate and his Heir, Storm turned to the direction of the weeping lioness again, and whispered softly into the night,

"Sarabi…"

The crying stopped abruptly, and her head turned to look at Storm; surely enough, it was the Princess, what little moonlight shone down seemed to shine on her, and picked out her brown ear rims, chiselled nose and tear streaked face.

"I…I…" she stammered quietly, still unable to breathe properly, "I'm sorry…I didn't m-mean to wake you, Father."

The moon beamed down on Storm, King of the Star Pride, and the stars of the African Sky channelled their light together to add it to that of the moon, and it illuminated him; but his expression was not angry, or set, or cold, but filled with sadness and gentleness and compassion. This was the side to the King that few knew existed, and even fewer witnessed. This was the Storm who lost his father, who wooed Aurora and who looked lovingly at his daughter, three and a half years ago on the morning after her birth, and now, in the night after she learned she was leaving the Pride.

"Sarabi," he said quietly, in a warm tone that was so unfamiliar to her, "You can cry if you want to."

"I _don't_," she replied, "But my tears fall nonetheless."

"Umff," muttered a lioness not far from them, about to wake up.

"Some are sleeping here," said another groggily.

Silently, Storm got up, so noiselessly that Aurora carried on dozing. He majestically stretched, and straightened out, and motioned for his daughter to follow.

Two lions walked together that night, the sky so vast and sparkling that it made the most noble King small and humble, and the crickets serenaded its beauty, and the night flowers bloomed beautifully, sending out their scent for many miles out, intoxicating the other plants, animals and all.

"You don't want to leave?" he asked.

"Yes," she agreed, "Father, this is my home. I love my mother and brother. I love Acacia Gardens and the watering hole. I love the hunt. I love my lands."

"For these lands to continue, for your mother and brother to live, for the Gardens to grow and for the watering hole to be full, for the prey to be hunted, you must do this, Sarabi."

"I have noticed," she sighed, "Food is fewer now. We have exhausted the lands."

"But they can be replenished, in time." Storm looked around him thoughtfully, "Nothing is forever, my precious girl, I want you to learn that."

"It's not," she agreed grimly.

The faraway ringing of the mighty river crashing through the rocks in its path echoed in the night's dark expanse, and the air was tinged with beginnings, moments, and endings. Night Butterflies danced through the tall grassy reeds, living for the moment, which, Sarabi knew as she watched them fly, would not last forever at all. Within a few weeks they will die, all the joy that they feel this night gone, as though it was never really there. With the coming and going of the seasons, the very grass that Father and Daughter, King and Princess, rested on, would die and be reborn. Nothing is certain, nothing is the same, and nothing lasts. The Princess turned her attentive and pensive gaze to her Father now, who was in his prime, a strong, powerful King. But there would come a time when he too, will pass away, just like the butterflies, just like the grass. What was the point, she thought, if we join this circle, only to live, feel pain as our loved ones leave, and leave ourselves?

"It's not at all," she repeated, with a sigh, her voice barely heard over the crickets' strings symphony.

"I'm sorry about Dusk," said Storm after a pause.

"That too," she snapped, "You wanted me to learn that nothing lasts by sending him away from me? I don't even know how he is, where he is, if he is…"

"He _is_," revealed Storm, "He has a small nomadic pride and a daughter. The birds have been telling me he is happy, Sarabi."

So Dusk did not wait for her. He did not want to see her again. He was with some lioness who made him happy, who curled up to him at night to keep him warm, who kissed him whilst looking at the sunset, who brought him a daughter…He was having the life Sarabi dreamed of sharing, but he was sharing it with someone else. She could feel the lump in her throat rise, and her eyes brim with tears. She blinked and looked away.

"He wants you to be happy too."

"I am happy that he is happy," she said sounding not very happy at all.

Storm leaned in to nuzzle her but she backed away. There was an unbearable hush, save the sounds of the night, which now became more apparent. The King was hurt, but those crafty thoughts that did not let him have a moment's peace taunted him. She hates you, they sneered, she despises you…

"Do you love me?" he asked in a smaller voice. Her silence made him uncomfortable. Even the greatest kings fear things: some - death, others - enemies, and some - that their child bears no love for them.

"I was afraid of this," he continued, "That I would keep you away. That you will not love me. That you will see the King, and not the Father."

She turned to face him, unbelieving what she was hearing,

"You were so cold to me! Before Sky was born, I would only speak to you about the business of ruling Star Pride. After his birth, you spoke less to me, only when you needed to. You sent away my love, then you exchanged me for land! You were always concerned with the state of affairs, with tradition, and never with me. The question that you ask of me is one that I should be asking of you!"

He remained silent, contemplating her words.

The tear stains were still moist on her face.

"I know you have great potential of being a remarkable Queen, Sarabi. You are wise and determined, you are the best huntress this Pride has ever known and you have a big heart that is capable of love and loss and loyalty. Here you have no hope. I am giving you this chance."

"Chance?" she asked coldly.

"To the Pridelands Dawn, Eve, and you will go. Dawn is strong, Eve is an excellent hunter, and you are a Princess."

Sarabi could see where this was going. She didn't know what to think or say.

"You will marry Prince Mufasa, Sarabi. You will rule the Pridelands with him when the time comes."

"When do I leave?" she asked in a calm, frosty voice that sounded alien to her.

"With the new moon," replied the King simply.

Sarabi looked up to the heavens, and her only hope of reuniting with Dusk was dwindling with the waning moon. But with the knowledge she received from her father, she was now unsure whether she was sorrowful and trying to get back the past, or anticipating and willing to embrace the future.


	8. Reflections and Goodbyes

Sarabi

Chapter 8: Reflections and Goodbyes

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!! 

Author's Note: I think Sarabi and a few other lionesses look like they don't belong in the Pride Lands. So I came up with a reason, which morphed into a story. Enjoy!

Time is a funny thing. When you want it to go by quickly, for instance when you are awaiting the opportunity to have a First Kill, it passes so slowly that it is agonising. On the other hand, if you want it to freeze so you can savour the moments, it accelerates to breakneck speed, like a hunting cheetah.

The moon in the sky lessened each evening, until the new moon arrived. That was that very night. Leading up to this night, Star Pride grew more and more uneasy, for three loved lionesses would leave to join a neighbouring Pride. Dawn, Eve, and Princess Sarabi.

Of these three transfers, all were worried, but about different things. 

Dawn, Dusk's older sister, did not want to leave her mother. Those two lionesses really were the best of friends. Dawn's generation of cubs had not been a lucky one, only three out of ten survived cubhood, and Dawn's closest companion was of course her mother, until Dusk came along, that is. After he left, it seemed to draw them even closer together. For the past week, Dawn would hardly leave her mother's side.

"I'll be fine, sweetie," reassured Dawn's mother, but the young lioness did not believe those words. Too sad was the voice that spoke them, too dim were the eyes that emphasized them. Dawn merely agreed, and did not want to upset her mother further by arguing with her, by making the truth hard and brash and real.

Eve was a year or so older than the Queen of the Star Pride. She had lived here all her life, and adored the beautiful scenery that surrounded her. Every day, every night, every moment was different and amazing, for the wind would blow and create an orchestra of sound, and the sun would shine through the leaves of the tall trees and sparkle like it does when it is reflected in the river. The elephants would stomp nearby: she would watch them fixatedly, simply fascinated by their colossal size and majestic nature. Surely, she thought, if the elephants were given claws and sharp teeth, they would be the Kings of the beasts. 

Eve had spent marvellous years in the Star Pride. She grew up to be the best huntress, and others would always consult her and ask for her opinions on how to improve. Eve also trained Aurora, the two have been friends since the Queen-to-be joined the crèche. Before long, Aurora's keen learning, practice and talent pushed her forward, and she was the lead huntress in the whole Pride, but could not communicate the theory behind her success to other lionesses. That was why Eve was the leader of the training parties, and not Aurora. Eve also knew Storm well. He was the only cub of his Regal parents, but that was not to say that he was spoilt. Far from it. He grew up just like all the other cubs, playing, eating, sleeping and being told off. He always had a temper, inherent from his father, and the father before him. Perhaps Aurora's mild nature lengthened the fuse of Sky, he was not once heard to raise his voice.

Staring at the rapidly darkening sky, Eve wondered why Storm was doing what he was. It didn't seem like him at all. After his father's death, he changed. He became graver and more temperamental, if that were possible. Secretly, Eve talked to Aurora, who was just as perplexed. The Queen nonetheless decided to do all she could to help. It appeared to be working, and with Sky's arrival, Storm was perhaps more happy. But now this? Moving away from the home she loved was terrible. But…oh, it must be so much worse for the Princess! 

Eve had family here too, only her cub did not survive beyond a few months after his birth. Not many did that year. When Sarabi was born, Eve bonded with the Princess during crèche, and later hunting practice. After the Prince's arrival, neither Storm nor Aurora had much time for their daughter, and Eve would take the time to talk to her. The Princess trusted Eve enormously; it was her she ran to, in tears, after Dusk left the Pride. Sarabi truly loved it here, she loved her brother, her mother _and_ her father, even if she did not know it. Leaving these lands and venturing out into the unknown, exchanged for territory ... Eve thought once more of her son, and sighed. She would be leaving him too.

The first stars shimmered up above, and Eve sadly smiled. Perhaps the decision was right. Perhaps it was time to move on. Time to let go.

That was also what the Princess of the Star Pride was thinking. She was still upset about the news of Dusk's pride. Maybe if I come to him, he will leave his family. Maybe we still have a chance…if it were not for my union with Mufasa! Then Sarabi scolded herself: how could she be this selfish, and force Dusk to choose between her and his new love? But what worried the Princess most was leaving her mother and brother (she was still resentful towards Storm) and the prospect of marrying the Prince of the Pridelands.

"Your ears are funny! That's so odd…why do you have stains on your ears?"

Those were the exact words that the Prince laughed out loud when the Kings had wandered off to discuss the growing hyena population. 

All Star Pride lions were of varying shades of greyish-brown, their profiles chiselled and their bodies strong. Some had ear rims, others did not. Sarabi was actually rather proud of hers. The Pridelands lions, from what she remembered, were brighter, a sort of creamy yellow. King Ahadi was muscular with a reddish mane. His son had much the same coloured mop-like tuft of hair on the top of his forehead and on his tail. And he had a big nose.

I shall hate it there. I know it. How can I be made to love another, when I only love Dusk?

"My sweet sweet Sarabi," purred Aurora sadly, her eyes wet with forced back tears, "I really can't believe you're leaving. I shall miss you, love. Promise me that you will come back to visit."

"You must come and see me too, Mother," Sarabi glanced round carefully, to make sure that Storm would not hear, "I don't want to leave you. I don't want to marry the Pridelands Prince."

Mother and daughter lay side by side in the shadows of the evening. All the things that Aurora wanted to teach her daughter would have to be taught tonight.

"I am afraid," confessed Sarabi, "I do not know what to expect…how to behave…how I can learn to love a lion I am forced to be with…"

The Queen licked her child's cheek.

"There are things which we have to do, which we do not always agree with. I did not choose to be with your father. He chose me. But out of this union grew love, and out of this love you, and Sky. It comes with time."

"I fear eternity is not nearly enough time for me to ever love Mufasa. Mother, I love Dusk. I still do. It hurts less, every day, but I can still feel it inside me."

Aurora stared at the inky clouds above,

"He is gone, my sweet. You must try and move on."

"I do not want to." 

"I promise you that you will learn to love the Prince. If you do not, at least you will learn to respect him, and rule with him. You will have his child, my love, and that will bring you closer. You will hunt just like you do here, but think of the vast plains and marshes! Think of the multitude of prey!"

"I can think only of Dusk, of you, of home…"

Frowning, the paler lioness spoke more persuasively,

"That is _now_. When you get there tomorrow, all will be different, you will see. You will forget Dusk."

"Never!" snapped the Princess.

Her mother said nothing in return. There was no point. Sarabi was irritable and narrow minded if she wanted to be. Oh, that cub could be so stubborn. She looked at her daughter again, and chuckled to herself. Not so much a cub anymore. Sarabi was fully grown, and in half a year or so, would be fully mature. Aurora would be a Grandmother. This inspired a change of subject, and the Queen started to talk again, there was so much to discuss!

"You will know when you are with cub," she was saying, "I cannot explain it, but you will _know_. You will be able to tell if it is male or female. You will think of a name, and it will fit him or her perfectly. You will know what to do. It is natural and instinctive. The lionesses there will help you, for you will not be the only one…

…It is best to stay in the shade during the dry season, and lead your hunting parties out in late afternoon, else you will tire quickly, and get thirsty. Don't forget there are alligators in the watering hole and in the river, even if the common law states there can be no disorder during the dry season when everyone comes to drink, you can never really trust crocodiles….

…Zebras deliver a powerful back kick which can shatter your jaw, and then you are as good as dead. Take care when you hunt them down. Coordinate your party, they will look to you as their guide, for everybody has heard of you and your talents, they all know that you are better than me…

…Lie down next to your mate in the evening, and rest your head on his mane. Ask him how his day was, and listen to what he says. If he is upset, then you should council him. If he is happy you should share his joy. Sometimes words are unnecessary, and he will need to know you are there for him…"

The starry sky was darker than usual that night, for there was no moon. Sarabi listened to her mother's advice, but she still did not believe she could ever love another lion like she loved Dusk. It seemed unreal and traitorous, as though she was abandoning her lover. Aurora slept now, she had talked to her daughter for long. The Princess took a good look around her home, for this would be the last time she would see it in the night for a while, if not for a lifetime.

Sunrise awoke Sarabi, and she yawned and stretched. Today was the day she would leave her familiar life and start anew. Eve sat a little way ahead, gazing at the pale pink wisps of cloud in the greeny golden sky of dawn. Dawn was not to be seen, neither was her mother, they went for a long stroll before the lionesses had to leave. Storm stood on a raised mount, unmoving, with a stony gaze on his face which Sarabi could not decipher. He was hurting, for his child was leaving, and she blamed him. She hated him, and he had been unable to explain himself to her. And why should she feel otherwise? Even he hated himself for the sorrow he had inflicted on the pride, his mate and his children. 

There was not a moment to waste, for Sarabi had to say goodbye.

"Sky," she told her little brother, "You've gotten so big. I am afraid I will miss you getting your full mane, become King, and have cubs. I can only wish the best of luck to you. Look after Mother, and Dawn's mother. Look after them all for me, Sky. Make the prey and the plants come back."

"I will sis," he replied, "I'll try anyhow. And I'll miss you too, and I'm sorry I won't see you do all that stuff. Apart from getting a mane, that is."

"Oh, my love, my darling child," sniffed the Queen, "May the Gods follow you and adorn you with all of the best things that you deserve. May you find love and happiness in the Pridelands. I will miss you so very much!"

"I wish things could be different," said Sarabi quietly, and nuzzled her mother affectionately. She could hardly believe that she will not see her again for a very long time.

Eve was also saying goodbye. As she and Aurora rubbed heads, Aurora whispered,

"Please make sure my little girl is well, Eve. I know you love her as though she were your own. Please look after her, my friend."

Eve nodded: she did not need to be asked. She would look after the Princess and help her as much as she could, and more.

Sarabi bid farewell to the other lionesses, and to the cubs she helped look after. Then she looked at her father.

"Goodbye then," she said icily, kept his gaze for a moment, and headed North. Having walked a few paces, Sarabi broke into a run, because she felt that if she did not, she would be unable to leave, so great was the force holding her back. When she reached the top of Windy Hill, she slowed down and allowed herself to turn around. A clump of trees far away, that was Acacia Garden, and that blue in the distance was the watering hole. Further to the right there lay a strip of the rushing river, and in the middle of all of this, she could just see her Pride. That was it. There was no turning back now.

"Sarabi!"

There was a pounding sound, and seconds later Eve appeared over the side of the hill, followed by Dawn.

"Wait for us!"

The three Star Pride lionesses slowly made their way to the Common Land, where they would be met by an ambassador of the Pridelands, and escorted to their new home. Their familiar, safe past seemed a lifetime away, and they paced towards their uncertain future, though full of possibilities and new experiences, with heavy paws.


	9. Pride Rock

Sarabi

Chapter 9: Pride Rock

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!! 

Author's Note: I think Sarabi and a few other lionesses look like they don't belong in the Pride Lands. So I came up with a reason, which morphed into a story. Enjoy!

As they approached the Common Land meeting place through the yellowy tall rushes, they saw no lion. On the dusty patch of bare ground, free of grass, a lizard lay, and a bird hopped frantically from one end of the patch to another, looking for worms to eat.

"We are early," murmured Sarabi, "Or they are late." 

"But there's a snack," said Eve in a low voice, so that the unwitting prey would not hear.

"Eve, you know how I hate lizard."

"I'm talking about the bird, Dawn. Now hush…" 

"Let me," asked the Princess, "I have the better path, and he is too small for us all to rush at once."

"I will cover from the left," agreed Eve, and stopped where she was to give Sarabi an advantage. Licking her dry lips, the youngest lioness crept though the reeds so silently that Dawn wondered if she were touching the ground with her paws at all. Eve held her breath. A few tail lengths away from the bird, and a pawstep before the reeds ended and the dead soil began, Sarabi waited for a heartbeat – the pre-chase freeze. Behind her, Eve picked up the signal, and crouched low, ready to sprint.

The bird hopped from one leg to another, glanced round, and looked at the lizard, sighing. The lizard blinked. It was much enjoying resting in the sunlight.

"Excuse me," she (as it turned out) said to the bird, "But don't you think that today is just too beautiful to die?"

Now it was the bird's turn to blink. He didn't understand the lizard, or any reptile for that matter. They had four legs like mammals, but laid eggs like birds, and to a bird that just didn't seem right. Still, he was a polite bird, and felt he had to answer, more so as it was a lady who asked.

"Well," he replied, "I do not intend on dying today. I have an important task, you see-"

"In that case, you may want to fly now."

"Really? Why?" he did not like being interrupted one bit. Did this lizard even know who he was?

"Because there are three lionesses about to eat you." 

That was when Sarabi darted forward.

"Aaaa!!!" yelled the bird, and madly flapped his wings. The fear made him forget how to fly, but his task, now _that_ was still embedded in his brain. Even though he could not remember how to take off to escape, the reason _why_ he was there was very clear indeed, after all, this was his first proper assignment as the advisor to the King. The bird quickly realised that the charging lioness was one of the three he was supposed to meet here. Covering his head with his wings which would not let him fly, he shrieked,

"Princess Sarabi!!! I am the ambassador for the-"

"Sarabi, no!" shouted Eve, as she realised the Princess was about to eat their guide, "Let him go!"

Luckily, the Princess had not had a chance to bite off the majordomo's head. She only pounced on him, and trapped him under her paws when Eve warned her. She stopped her muscles almost instantly, it was rather painful, and she nearly toppled forward. The other two lionesses caught up beside her, worried. Gulping, and praying to the powers that she did not squash the ambassador, Sarabi slowly lifted up her paw. When she saw him lying sprawled on the ground, unmoving, she gasped, and shared a horrified glance with Eve. But then, the little bird moved his wing feebly.

 "Ehhh…." was all that he managed to say.

Sarabi sighed, relieved. He was alive. 

"He's alive," breathed the Princess, "Oh, Mr Bird, I am so sorry! I didn't know…we didn't know…"

"We were expecting a lion," explained Dawn, "We thought a lion would meet us."

The bird coughed out a small cloud of dust, and slowly opened his eyes.

"It's quite alright ladies," he assured in a croaky voice, "No one was hurt…"

"Well, that was a great first impression we made," muttered Eve through her clasped together teeth. Dawn dropped her ears low in embarrassment, but oh, if lions could blush, Sarabi would have been redder than the sunset! She bit her lip as she watched the bird unsurely flex his wing.

"Please accept my, our, most sincere apologies, Mr…er…"

"Zazu," he filled in, "Just Zazu. Well, my wing seems to be in order." He picked himself up off the ground, and shook off the dirt, and, as Dawn noticed, some feathers too. He smoothed down his ruffled feathers neatly with his beak.

"I am the advisor to King Ahadi of the Pridelands," continued Zazu, "It's my first week, actually. I have just taken over from my father, he's getting on, you see. You must be Princess Sarabi, pleased to make your acquaintance. And you," he nodded to the others in acknowledgement, "You must be Eve and Dawn of the Star Pride. Pleased to meet you, ladies."

"The pleasure is ours, Zazu," replied Dawn nervously, she was still feeling quite uncomfortable about the meeting. Zazu cheerfully glanced at the three concerned lionesses. 

"Ah, but where are my manners?" he said suddenly, "I will be most upset if I make a mess of this, this is my first assignment! Shall we? Pride Rock is not far."

He flapped his wings to fly up to lead the way, but immediately cringed with pain, evidently his wing was damaged more so than he thought. He examined it closely,

"Oh dear, I must have sprained it," he said disappointedly, "Oh dear oh dear…What a frightful mess…I am very sorry, oh, what a to-do!"

Sarabi winced. This was all her fault. She had not even gotten to the Pridelands, and already she almost killed the King's advisor.

"Mr Zazu, please don't apologise! I am at fault here! Would you ride on my shoulder?"

Zazu sighed. What a bother! Trust him to make a warthog's ear of a simple task… He looked at his sprained wing sadly, and agreed. The foursome moved East, Sarabi at the front, Zazu chatting to her perched on her shoulder (as she found out he was rather talkative, but then, that was a trait of many birds), and Eve and Dawn behind, whispering anxiously about what the King would say when he will find out about how they nearly ate his advisor for lunch. It did not take long at all for Sarabi and the others to see where they were going, for just as they left the barrenness of the Common Land, the massive structure of Pride Rock seemingly rose out of nowhere. White wispy clouds framed this stately rock formation, and Sarabi walked in silence: it was just as she had remembered it when she visited with her father. Now this thought caused a pang of…_something_ in her heart, she didn't know what it was, only that she had never felt this way before. She would probably never see her father again. Why would he want to visit her when he would be busy with Sky? No matter what he told her that night, when he announced that she should leave, he would never love her. He would have acted differently otherwise. He wouldn't have sent her away.

Star Pride was behind her, to the West, where the sun would set. Her mother and brother and father and friends were there, and she would not see them for a while. Perhaps a lifetime. And as Zazu was rattling on about how King Ahadi should have done something about the hyenas sooner, the imposing mass that was Pride Rock got bigger and bigger and bigger.

At Pride Rock itself, or rather a little way down to the flat rocks below, warmed by the sun, and three lions chatted to each other. A yellow young lion paced to and fro, his claret mane unsettled each time his front paws touched the ground, and fell about his face. He sniffed irritably,

"I'm gonna go up there and check," he said, glancing up to Pride Rock, and shifting his weight.

"Oh, what a great idea," replied a drawling voice, "Yes, your best yet! Oh, but wait, it sounds so familiar! Could it be that I heard it before? Like a minute ago?"

The yellow lion looked to a lioness for support. She lay on her side on a rock, soaking up the warm rays of the sun. Even though she kept her eyes shut, and did not see the look her cousin gave her, she raised her dainty eyebrows and stretched. Still not opening her eyes, she yawned, and straightened her toes,

"Hate to say it, Mufasa, but Taka's right. You have just been up to the Rock. For the tenth time! Your dad'll fetch you when they get here."  

Mufasa rolled his eyes and flopped onto the ground. His tail danced from side to side in anticipation. 

"Good move, Mufasa. Get all dirty for when the princess arrives."

The future King shot a killing look in the direction of the voice. Under a sloping flat stone, protected from the sun's heat by the shade, a tawny lion sprawled. His mane was black, not quite full grown, and he was skinny looking. Noticing the look his brother gave him, Taka grinned widely. If anything, he was not short of teeth. His green eyes sparkled, and his eyebrows knitted together; Mufasa felt a chill run down his spine. Given that Taka was smaller, weaker, younger, he still seemed to possess something that unnerved even the bravest of future kings. Not that Mufasa would ever let that fear show. Grumbling, he got up off the ground and shook himself clean.

"Fina?" he asked the lioness, "Why aren't they here yet?"

"Don't you 'fee-nuh' me, fuzzball! They'll get here when they'll get here."

"Fuzzball," chuckled Taka, "That's a good one Fina; I think you're improving on your 'ball of fuzz' insult you've been stuck on since forever…"

"Go and crawl back under the rock you came from, Taka," she snapped, "Don't even _think_ I've forgotten what you did yesterday!"

"My, you remembered? I'm both touched and amazed, I really am."

The lioness growled, finally opening her eyes.

"Mufasa, Taka, Sarafina," a lioness of Taka's pelt colour called as she descended from Pride Rock, "They're here."

"Thanks Uru, we're coming," replied Sarafina, as she slid off her rock, Mufasa was already half way up.

"Taka?" asked Uru as she walked past Sarafina, "Aren't you going to join us?"

"Why, mother?" he asked, getting to his feet and stretching from mane to tail, "Am I really needed there?"

"Don't talk to me like that, Taka. Of course we need you. Now will you go and meet the Star Pride lionesses, your father's waiting. I'm neither Mufasa's nor Sarafina's mother, and they didn't need to be told twice."

She tilted her head to one side and raised her ears slightly. Taka sighed, and strode over to his mother, then up to the Rock as she gave him a nudge on the shoulder. Mother and son got to the Pride just in time. Ahadi had already come down from Pride Rock, and sat at the bottom, next to Mufasa and Sarafina. The other four lionesses also sat, talking amongst themselves. Uru took her place next to Ahadi, and Taka, despite his mother's looks, sat huffily to the left, by himself. With the Pride assembled so, Zazu's voice could be heard from ahead, behind the shrubbery, as they approached,

"So you see, my father, Major Zeek, had to resign, the arthritis in his wings was just too much for long flights, and I took over last week. And, oh, you see, we're here."

With that, the three Star Priders and Zazu stepped out into the seen.

Sarabi and the others were used to formal greetings, and they were introduced to everyone rather quickly: it was true, the Pridelands Pride was quite small. And after the formalities were over and done with, Mufasa walked up to the Princess as she looked round her new home.

"Hullo," he said.

***

OK, sorry for the long wait, hope you like it.

NB: Uru is not a © Dishwasher name, it has been used many times, in many stories, so I don't know the origin. As has Akase. I think that they are Disney tm and Fanfic tm names for Mufasa's and Scar's mother. I don't know which is which, so hey, I'll use both. Mufasa gets Akase as his mum, and Taka has Uru. You'll find out why that is later. Have fun! ~The Dishwasher.


	10. Rejection

Sarabi  
Chapter 10: Rejection

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!  
Author's Note: Thank you so much for all your reviews, it means a lot to me that you like this story. I wanted to share it with you, because I've had it in my mind for a while, so knowing what you think is very encouraging. 

The Princess turned round, and saw the big-nosed Prince. He didn't look like he had changed one bit. She set her jaw firmly, and straightened up. This was the lion that would be her future mate? How different he was from Dusk! More stocky, more yellow, more big-nosed! Sarabi wrinkled her own nose slightly, but then half shut her eyes and looked down at Mufasa. She stood on a hilly bit of ground, which helped, as he was larger than her.

"Good afternoon," she replied in a steely tone.

"Um…so…" Mufasa glanced from side to side for help from mid-air. It offered him none. Poor lion. He was rather taken aback by the Princess's coldness, "You…like it here?"  
"Hmph," she said, and wrinkled her nose again, "Maybe with time."  
"Oh," muttered the Heir sounding as though an antelope kicked him in the belly, "I think it's beautiful…" he bit his lip, and pondered for an instant whether he should say the next part of his sentence, "Like you."  
Almost immediately Mufasa wished he hadn't. Sarabi's half-closed eyes widened, and her pupils narrowed,  
"Do you _think_ you can have me, just like that? With your low compliments, and your power? We may have been promised to each other by our fathers, but I don't like you! I'll never like you! You don't know what I've been through, coming here! So just leave me alone!"  
He gaped, awestricken, as the dark lioness shot an icy look at him, and sprinted towards the Rock, where Eve and Dawn were talking to Uru. Mufasa watched her run past them, behind the shrubs, until he couldn't see her anymore. He blinked, shook his head to rid himself of the remnants of the daze, and was about to go after her when a voice stopped him,  
"Don't."

Sarafina walked up slowly behind him, and gave him an affectionate nuzzle.   
"You…heard?" asked Mufasa, dropping his ears and raising his eyebrows in such a way that he seemed to look no older than a cub.  
"I'm sorry. Yeah, I heard the whole thing. I saw the whole thing."  
"You don't think I should-"  
"No. Give her some time. She'll come around. She must have had it tough, you know. If uncle Ahadi sent me off somewhere, I don't know how I'd take it."  
Mufasa sighed. It had all seemed so simple until now. His father told him that the Star Pride Princess would be his mate, that she would come with two other lionesses, and that she would be a wise, beautiful, loving future Queen. But she felt nothing for him. He stared down at his front paws for a while.  
"Fina?" he asked.  
"Mmm?"  
"You think it's cause of that time she came here with King Storm, and I said her ears were funny?"

Sarafina smiled, remembering that day. She was with her mother, observing the King and Princess of the neighbouring Pride coming for a visit, when Mufasa, only a year old or so, laughed at Sarabi's ear rims. Sarafina had not herself spoken to the Princess, for back then it was just the immediate Royals who were involved. She recalled talking to Akase after the two lions left. The impression of them that her aunt had obtained seemed to be quite pleasant. Sarafina smiled further, as more and more memories of the former Queen came flooding back to her. Her mother was the Queen's sister, and Sarafina was as close to her aunt as she was to her mother.

"Well?" persisted the Prince.  
"Don't be daft!" she laughed, and cuffed her cousin playfully, "Just give her some time. I know it'll work out for you, I just do."  
Mufasa shrugged, and sat down. His cub-like expression moulded into that of an adult lion, who was about to be handed great responsibility, that he didn't know how to deal with,  
"What if she never loves me, Sarafina? What if she feels that she is compelled to be with me? I would hate for her to feel that way."  
"How can anybody know you and not love you, m'dear?" she purred, and gave him an encouraging lick on the cheek, "Cheer up, fuzzball. You're so yellow and yet so blue. Doesn't suit you."  
"I…I guess you're right. I'll go patrol, though. I think I need to be alone for a little while too."

As Prince Mufasa torpidly pawed away to the border, Sarafina remained where she was for a moment, contemplating the scene she witnessed. Then she, having made up her mind, took off after Sarabi. It seemed as though there was not a soul in the clearing, but concealed in the foliage of a tall, ancient tree, two green eyes as green as the leaves themselves glinted dangerously. What Sarafina said to the future King was mostly true…but oh, it was very possible to know Mufasa and feel no love for him whatsoever. Quite the opposite, in fact. There was a gleam of yellow teeth amongst the leaves as Taka smiled widely. Poor Mufasa. Can't get a lioness to like him. Must be something not quite meshing with the butch charm he possessed so. Taka snorted. He could have been King. Mufasa, who had a heart the same size as his nose, and a brain that was ten times as small, would have let his brother co-rule the Pridelands had a mate not been found. And it was looking so promising, as lions kept dying…but Ahadi just _had_ to make the arrangement with the Star Pride. Unless…unless Taka could do something to make the Princess dislike his brother even more…or make his brother dislike the Princess…  
The chilling grin of teeth and hate got wider. Taka had a plan. 

It didn't take long for Sarafina to find Sarabi's track, and following it was no problem. That's good, thought the pale lioness, she doesn't mind being found. The other two new lionesses were still talking to Queen Uru, and said hello to Sarafina as she hurried past them. She didn't have to look for long: a solitary figure sat hunched in the field of brightly coloured flowers, her tail curled round her, her ears low. She gazed to the West, to her home. Her real home.  
"Um, Princess Sarabi?" called Sarafina hesitantly.  
The lioness's ears twitched and orbited towards the sound, then she turned her head away from the memories in the distance, and looked at the intruder to her thoughts.  
"Yes?" she asked.  
"Do you, uh, mind if I join you?"  
Yes, thought the Princess, I do mind. I just want to be left by myself, but instead said, "Go ahead." It really was not the best policy to argue with every Pridelands lion she came across. Whether she liked it or not, she was a member of their Pride now. The wind was picking up, she noticed absently, as it ruffled her fur. The grass and blooms surrounding her bent under the wind's command.  
"You're Sarafina, yes?" checked Sarabi as the pale lioness walked up beside her. She was usually good with names.  
"Yeah," replied her visitor, "But you can call me Fina."  
"In that case, you can leave out the 'Princess'. I'm simply Sarabi."  
"Okay…Sarabi."

The two watched the sky together in silence for a while. The wind chased the clouds across the sky, a hunt was unfolding before their eyes as the panicked clouds scattered and separated just like zebra.  
"Do you hunt?" This was the husky voice of the Princess.  
"Supposedly. I'm not too great, though. I always step on a twig, or sneeze, or something. But I hear you're pretty amazing…"  
"So they say," shrugged Sarabi. 

The sun made his way across the sky, and the lionesses talked and talked. Sarabi told Sarafina about her life in the Star Pride, her family, her friends. Sarafina, on her part, shared tales from her cubhood, how her aunt Queen Akase was killed by a pack of hyenas, how King Ahadi wed Uru, and how Taka was born. They chatted about things they liked, such as sunsets, and wet seasons, Sarabi mentioned the intense adrenaline rush of the hunt as Sarafina praised the passivity of sunbathing; and things they didn't like, such as drought, and eating carcasses when food was scarce, and snakes, and hyenas.

Sarabi was wrong, what she needed was not solitude, but a friend to talk to, and Sarafina was just that. For Sarafina, this was time well spent as well, as she was the only female of her age in the Pride, and though talking to Mufasa was good up to a point, Taka was intolerable (to be honest, sometimes he frightened her) and the adults were busy most of the time. The Star Pride Princess, as she found out, shared many things in common with her, and they did not notice time fly by. Almost inevitably (for it had to happen) their conversation steered to Ahadi's eldest son.

"Mufasa's great," piped up Sarafina, "He had to grow up pretty quick, I mean his mom died, and then the orange fuzzball came along that he had to look after, you know. He had it tough. So he's gotta be responsible, but sometimes he's so much like a cub that it's funny." She flapped her ears a couple of times to ward away the bugs and gave Sarabi a serious look, "You shouldn't be so hard on him."  
The Princess exhaled slowly to stop herself from getting too angry too quickly, but her tail started to sweep the ground, rustling through the grass and flowers, and Sarafina knew she said the wrong thing.  
"I shouldn't be so hard on him? Sarafina, do you think that I wanted all this? Back home, I have a lion that I love!"  
"Oh," Fina said quietly, and kneaded the grass with her paws sheepishly. Sarabi glared, and carried on,  
"My Father," she continued, not hiding the way her upper lip curled into a smirk when she mentioned Storm, "Made him leave the Pride. He made my love go away. The last I heard, he found a lioness and had a cub. And then Father sent me away as well, _here_, to marry Mufasa. I still love Dusk, Fina. I always will."  
Sarafina furrowed her delicate eyebrows. Although Sarabi had a point, she was being unfair. The lioness loved her cousin, they helped each other through difficult times and shared play adventures and secrets, and she was not going to let him go undefended.  
"Hey," she said impulsively, "Do you think that Mufasa wanted any of this too? Seems to me he had a life as tough as you, and to my knowledge he had no say in this arranged union either. But he's trying, Sarabi, he is trying to get on with you because he understands that neither you nor him have any choice in the matter whatsoever. And you refuse him, and pretend like it's all about you! Oh my…"  
Sarafina almost couldn't believe what she had just said, "Oh my…" she repeated again, stunned by her outburst. In a much quieter, gentler voice, she hastily added,  
"Well, that's what I think." 

The Princess did not say a word. She felt that she was being talked to like the time that she tried to get a drink at the water hole, and the gnu laughed at her. But her new friend's words had a grain of truth. Alright, she admitted guiltily to herself, they were all true. They brought a new perspective to the Princess, which unleashed on her like the rain, and allowed her to step back and assess the situation from another point of view.  
"You're right," she admitted, "I know I've been difficult. He was only trying to help. I suppose I could be…nicer, but," and she raised her head to look Sarafina in the eye and said sincerely, "I don't think I'll ever be able to love him."  
Sarafina nodded understandingly, but inside her pretty head she was smiling happily, for the Princess said 'I don't _think_' which always left room for possibility, and room for Sarafina to intervene and tangle the life threads of her friend and her cousin together.  
"Let's get back to the Pride," she suggested, "Everyone's dying to talk to you. We've heard so much about you and your pride from the birds and the King, we've all been looking forward to having you and your friends over here."  
"Zazu!" exclaimed Sarabi suddenly.  
"What about him?"  
"Oh, Fina, you have to promise not to tell anyone, but," and the Princess glanced round to make sure nobody was listening, "I almost killed him!"  
"No!" laughed Sarafina, and Sarabi embarrassingly told her what happened. The two young lionesses raced back to Pride Rock to check on the King's advisor, both in a far happier mood than they were in a few hours before.

And when they were far away, Taka slinked out of the shrubbery and gazed at the breezy sky for a little while. The light wind lifted up the ebony locks of his halfgrown mane, and made his lime eyes dry.   
"You think my fate is sealed do you? Fools! You Great Kings are nothing but fools, just like my brother! Just you watch me, from your faraway silver thrones, watch me get my kingdom! I think more spying is in order, don't you? Taka will interfere with the written fate, you'll see! You'll see, and you will not do anything about it!"  
He couldn't see the stars yet, but he knew they were there, and he knew they shuddered with every word he spoke.

In a tall baobab tree, away from the scatter and energy of Pride Rock there was a platform, fashioned by nature, which would not have ordinarily been used for much, for there are few animals that can climb its smooth high trunk. However, a particular mandrill could do just that, and use this platform he did. 

The Pridelands Pride came to this place long ago, and its generations have thrived here: there was no need for them to leave. The roots laid down by the first lion to put paw on this land have spun deep into history and lion lore, unlike many near prides. Even the Star Pride wandered the Savannah for many years, and settled in the comfortable nest of river and acacias only when Storm's Grandfather was King. And whereas these other prides had their traditions that they kept the same whilst their land kept changing, for the Pridelanders their traditions were moulded with time against the solid backdrop of their strikingly beautiful home. 

So it was, long ago, that a Mandrill came to a King at a time of great need and counselled him, and so valuable and successful was this advice that the King befriended him, and a common law was passed that no predator shall touch the Mandrill or his kin on pain of death.   
But the Mandrill was clever, and knew that there would always be a wrongdoer to break the law, so he asked for the Spirits to guide him to a safehouse, which would not burn, or crumble, or be of ease to get into by unwanted guests. And the Spirits told him to search where the sun would rise, so off the Mandrill went, far enough away from the King's Rock yet close enough that he could see it whole and hold it on the palm of his hand, when he came across a tree.   
This was a lonely tree, but a stately one at that, and with his long and bendy fingers and toes the Mandrill climbed up the baobab, pleased to find in the spread of branches from the trunk a level flooring. He thanked the Spirits, and remained in the tree, coming down at times to visit his royal lion friend.   
All was well, but the Mandrill was in the tree often, and by himself, so in a few weeks the solitude dawned on him and he became rather miserable. And that was when the Spirits talked to him, and told him many things, and taught him many skills, so the Mandrill became well learned in botany, medicine and scrying. His advice was now based on the future, and his rituals were closer connected with the Spirits. All this knowledge he did pass on to his nephew, who, once of age, became a promising apprentice.   
The old King had long since died, but succeeding Kings carried on the friendship with the Mandrill, and his young apprentice was told that there would come a time when he would take over the role as the Shaman of the Pride.   
And one day, the Spirits told the Mandrill that he had learned all that he was destined, and that he had fulfilled his life's purpose. Feeling the last of his breath on his aged lips, the Mandrill called forth his nephew, and told him that his time to be the new Shaman had come, for he was at the beginning of his service, whilst the Mandrill was at the end. As the Nephew wept bitter tears mourning the loss of his beloved uncle and mentor, the Mandrill, who had already fallen on his side and shut his eyes silently asked the Spirits who they were, and as his last wish they revealed that they were the Great Kings of the Past.

This nephew too, learned from the spirits, and carried on the friendship with the Lion Kings and Queens of the Pridelands, which grew stronger with each of their generation. He was called Rafiki, and he was old now, but he knew still had a way to go. His task was not yet complete, and the Spirits still taught him many things. Contently, this Rafiki sighed, and bit thoughtfully into a passion fruit. Chomping on the fruit, he smiled to himself, for with the sunset he would welcome three new lionesses to the Pridelands, and soon he would perform the union of the young Prince and Princess. But then his expression changed, for the voices of the Spirits called out of the wind, ringing with alarm. The mandrill furrowed his bushy brows and scratched his balding head: the voices were shouting 'Taka'. He hopped to his legs and grabbed his stick: within a few moments he was making his hasty way to Pride Rock. 


	11. The Ceremony

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!   
Author's Note: I think Sarabi and a few other lionesses look like they don't belong in the Pride Lands. So I came up with a reason, which morphed into a story. Enjoy!

Sarabi  
Chapter 11: The Ceremony

Sarabi met up with Eve and Dawn, and introduced Sarafina to them properly. Then Sarafina's mother and Queen Uru walked over to the party, and asked the lionesses many questions about their home and their lives. Sarabi felt at rest, she was quite happily talking about her life at home, and was even at ease talking to the Queen. When they were first introduced that afternoon, the Princess felt that the Queen was distant and withheld, but now that they were talking she realised that this was not the case at all. Uru was kind and easygoing, her laugh was pleasant to the ear, and was heard often. 

"…it was most humiliating, father…"  
Sarabi heard the snippet of a conversation and recognised the voice immediately, this was Zazu, the King's majordomo, whom she very nearly killed earlier. Talking for hours to Sarafina and now to the others as well did not give the Princess the opportunity to check on the bird's wing.  
"Excuse me," she said politely, and brisked towards the voice. 

"Never in my days, boy, did I pull such a spectacle!"  
"I know father, I know…" 

"Good afternoon," interrupted the Princess: she caught up to the birds from behind.  
"Good afternoon, Princess Sarabi," replied a slightly bigger bird which looked similar to Zazu that Sarabi had not seen before. She remembered Zazu telling her about his father, and quickly realised that this was Major Zeek.  
"Good afternoon, Princess," echoed Zazu in a slightly trodden voice.  
"Must apologise on my son's behalf, Princess. Flew to take you here, then blundered like a chick."  
"Apologise?" asked Sarabi in surprise, "But he has nothing to apologise for, the fault was all-"  
"Mine!" quickly put in Zazu before the Princess could continue. Sarabi stared at this little strange creature.  
"How so?" she questioned.  
"You know what happened," said Zazu keeping Sarabi's gaze, "I flew too fast to get there because I was late, then I was too tired to stay up in the air on the way back, and I fell."  
"What?!" she exclaimed.  
"You must have not seen me do it," he carried on, accentuating every word he spoke, "I was a little way back."  
Major Zeek tutted disapprovingly, "So sorry you had to carry him, Princess, my boy can be such a bother."  
"Not at all," Sarabi replied blankly, as Zazu sighed and turned his gaze away, pleased. The least he could do was not to get the Princess into any trouble on her first day here.

"How is your wing, Zazu?" she inquired.  
The little bird gave it a cautious flap.  
"It's a lot better, Princess, thank you for your concern. I expect I will be airborne again in a few days."  
"Should hope so," gruffly backed up the Major, "Look, the King is here." 

Indeed, the golden pelt of Ahadi could be seen approaching the Pride Rock, shimmering in the late afternoon sun. Behind the King, as Sarabi noticed, trailed the Prince she had shouted at earlier. She lowered her eyes as the lions walked past, Sarafina's words made her feel ashamed of what she had done. 

"Princess Sarabi," the King addressed her, "Would you like to join us for the ceremony?"  
"Certainly," she replied curtly.  
He then bowed his head in the acknowledgement of the hornbills, "Ah, Major Zeek, Zazu. You, too, will of course be very welcome to attend."  
"Very kind, sire," replied the former advisor, and nudged Zazu, "Wouldn't you say so, son?"  
"Very kind of you, my King," agreed Zazu hastily before more nudging would follow.  
"Let's hope that wing of yours gets better soon, Zazu," smiled Ahadi, "There is much to be done."

Sarabi flattened her ears even more, and swallowed her guilt. This day was just dragging out for too long. By accident, she caught Mufasa's eye: he stood patiently waiting for his father, and was looking around himself, just happening to look at her at that very moment.  
She quickly looked away, for she saw hurt in his eyes, and she didn't want to discuss anything here, not in front of the King or the birds. 

"Shall we go together?" asked the King, and motioned for the lioness and birds to follow him. Zazu and his father flew next to Ahadi (to be more precise Zazu rode on his shoulder) which left Sarabi and Mufasa walking behind. For a few moments there was silence.  
"Had a good day?" asked Sarabi finally with some will, cringing with how rehearsed that sounded.  
Mufasa looked at her, surprised,  
"Yeah. I mean yes. Well, it was a bit dull. Thanks. You?"  
"I made friends with Sarafina, and talked to the other lionesses. They're nice."  
"That's nice."  
Silence resumed again, both lions appalled at their limited range of superficial vocabulary.

"About earlier," said Mufasa once he had taken in a long, deep breath, "I -"  
He could say no more, for they had come to the Pride now, and everyone was assembling for the ceremony. Sarabi was relieved, she really didn't want to talk about anything in case the King would hear. Distracted, she overheard Major Zeek telling Zazu: "Would you look at them? Sweeter than honey, and a hundred times better set for ruling the Lands. This is a great union, son."  
So, which ceremony was this? Thought the Princess horrified, Am I going to marry Mufasa now?  
"What's happening now?" she asked Mufasa nervously, as she watched the Pridelands lionesses assemble in age order.  
"It's your acceptance to the Pride," he whispered, "Rafiki will welcome you and Eve and Dawn. He might do some stuff with fruit juice, or something. I remember some sotra balm when Dad married Uru, and when Taka was born."  
"But that's it?" she asked, hopeful that it would be.  
"That's it," he replied, perhaps sadly.

"Sarabi! What are you still doing there?"  
Dawn called her again, "You have to come here! Then we can ascend the Rock."  
"Sorry," excused Sarabi, and ran over to join her friends, feeling that she had apologised not only for her leaving Mufasa, but for everything she had done wrong.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Ahadi. Next to him sat Uru, her head placed lovingly on his shoulder, and to his right, Sarabi noticed for the first time, there stood a baboon, or rather a mandrill. One had wandered over to the Star Pride when she was little, and her father told her that lions were not allowed to kill mandrills, for this was the common law.  
"Taka," said Uru simply, "We have to wait for Taka."

Sarabi had spoken to everybody in the Pride, but not so much to the younger Prince, beyond a formal greeting. She wondered where he was.  
Right on cue, the bushes rustled, (Sarafina's mother jumped a little) and an orange lion emerged. Sarabi thought him to be a little older than Sky, judging by his mane.  
"Taka dear," chided Uru softly and against her wishes, it seemed, "We're all waiting for you."  
"Could you go round rather than through, next time, son?" asked Ahadi, sounding a little tired, "You're too big for playing games."  
"So sorry," replied Taka through his teeth, "My, you held up the fun just for me? I suppose I'd better go join the procession then."

"Are we ready?" asked the King again, glancing sternly at Taka, and nodded to Rafiki for the ceremony to begin when he saw that all were set.  
"Come, come, let us go up," called the baboon, and struck the ground with the butt of his stick twice. Ahadi and Uru, followed by Taka and Mufasa walked up, then Sarafina, her mother, and three others. Eve, Dawn and Sarabi came next, concluded by Rafiki. When all were on the extending rock that lay almost horizontal to the tall one that Sarabi couldn't see the top of, Rafiki began,  
"Evening falls, Sun goes down, but the Pride grows, and will grow with the coming Suns. From the Star Pride, three lionesses join us; the Sun sets on your life in the past, and will rise tomorrow with your life anew here."  
He thrust his arms out and called forth the Sprits, to welcome Sarabi and her friends to the Pride. Mufasa was half right, instead of a balm, Rafiki dusted their foreheads with sand. 

"Princess Sarabi," he chanted when it was her turn, "This is the land that you now share with the Pride." She pondered about the depth of the significance behind the gesture, her own Pride didn't have a shaman, or any traditions that were this spiritual. She smiled: this was her Pride now, and she would have to learn to think of it like that. Contemplating the dust on her forehead she thought whether she could ever live with Mufasa, how she could be his Queen without there being any feeling between the two of them, but the mandrill seemed to read her thoughts and he smiled his crooked grin,  
"Soon you'll see," he laughed gently, "Soon you will see."  
He turned away from the Princess and cast a sweeping gaze round the Pride.  
"The ceremony is complete," he stated.

"Wait!" called Taka, and limped forward, through a small body of speculating lionesses, "How can you let her join?" The nod was directed at Sarabi. At first she was unsure of what he would say, or why there was a problem.  
"Taka!" exclaimed Uru angrily, and Mufasa growled.  
"She is unwelcome here," explained the dark maned Prince, "Why, how did Zazu here sprain his wing? He fell, he told you. Well, what bird do you know of that just stops flying in mid-air? No, he lied, because it was her who was about to eat him, and she would have succeeded too had the others not stopped her. Poor Zazu was scared to tell you the truth. Well, Princess," he spat venomously through gritted teeth, "What have you to say?"  
"Quiet, fuzzball!" yelled Sarafina angrily, but Taka only glared at her.

Sarabi's ears were aback with guilt and shock, her paw was lifted half way up from the ground, and her whole body seemed to be leaning back, about to retreat.  
"Zazu?" asked Ahadi in an odd tone of voice. Everyone else was hushed.   
"It's not true," said Eve loudly, bristling the fur on her back, "That's not the way it happened! What-"  
"What happened, Zazu?" Taka cut through, "Was she going to eat you?"   
"Well, boy?" asked Major Zeek, "Speak, son!"

All eyes were on the small hornbill, who raised his wings up to shield himself from the stares. Beneath the wings, there came a muffled 'Yes'.  
"You see!" hissed Taka gleefully, "She would have killed him!"  
"But it wasn't her fault!" defended Dawn, "Foolish cub, there was a mix up! We didn't know that Zazu was the ambassador!"  
"What are you saying Taka?"  
"Leave her alone!"  
"Is she a killer?"  
"You've got it all wrong!"  
"What about Eve?"  
"That's not what really happened."  
"Poor Zazu!"  
The natters and whispers rippled through the Pride, getting louder.

"Wait!" Zazu cried, "Listen to me!" but for all the noise the bird went by unnoticed. Rafiki, witnessing the out of control situation, whispered in the King's ear.  
Ahadi brought up his head from his shoulder with a deafening roar that carried through the sunset and rustled the leaves on the trees, and Pride Rock creaked with the might of the sound. Needless to say, everyone fell silent.  
"Let Zazu speak," commanded Rafiki.  
Zazu glanced round the questioning faces.  
"It's true, I was almost eaten, but it was no more than a simple error, let me assure you! Nobody clarified that the ambassador for the Pridelands would be a majordomo, naturally the ladies in question expected a lion. They thought it would be perfectly alright to eat me, so really what happened was an accident."  
"If anything, it was my fault," added Eve, "I saw Zazu and told Sarabi that we should eat him, I am very sorry that it all went wrong."  
Taka grumbled under his breath, and avoided the irate look of Ahadi.   
"We should tell Sarabi that it's okay," said Mufasa.  
"Hey, where is she?" asked Sarafina.

It was just then that the Pride noticed that the Princess was not to be seen anywhere.  
"Where did she go?" echoed Dawn.  
Let's hope she went away, thought Taka maliciously, never to come back here again.

Mufasa looked down over the edge of the Rock, his muscles tense, ready to leave at any second to find Sarabi. He glanced back unsurely to his father, who was snarling at Taka as Uru wore a pained expression, although he was asking for permission to do so. A light thwack on the top of his head brought him round to come face to face with his cousin.  
"What are you waiting for, you silly lion? Go get her! Go!"  
Mufasa shared one last glance with the lioness and sped down into the evening after Sarabi, wherever she was. Sarafina smiled. Perhaps things would sort themselves out after all, that is as long as Sarabi did not run too far. 


	12. Sense and Scars

Chapter 12: Sense and Scars

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!

Author's Note: I think Sarabi and a few other lionesses look like they don't belong in the Pride Lands. So I came up with a reason, which morphed into a story. Enjoy! And sorry for the long update, I had PC problems. :)

Sarabi did not care where she was running to, as long as she was running. As soon as she heard Zazu speak, and the words 'murderer', she turned speedily on her toes and cascaded down Pride Rock. She did not look back once, her vision was blurry with tears: nobody would understand that what happened was an accident. She didn't know the laws of the Pridelands Pride, but surely the slaying of an advisor to the King would be a heavily punishable offence indeed! Over the grass she ran, underneath the dark sky, not stopping once. Yet she had nowhere to go to – sent away from her home, banished from the Pridelands – probably…She was engulfed by her negative thoughts, and quite by chance lifted up her head to see where she was going. Just in time! She froze her muscles for the second time that day and ground to a halt, a whisker's breadth away from a tree trunk. Not that this was any ordinary tree… She was so close to it that all she saw in front of her was its smooth bark. Wiping her eyes dryer with a paw, she backed up to look up, and could hardly see the top. The trunk that she almost collided with was big and fat, and she realized precisely what she was looking at: a baobab.

Sarabi sniffed loudly, trying to hold her tears back. The past few months must have been strenuous for her, for she seldom cried. Her long breath was shuddery with emotion, and she rested to calm down. Suddenly, there was a rattling noise in the leaves high above. A snake? Sarabi poised herself for any attack.

"Hey hey hey…" called a croaky voice she heard not so long ago, "Hey girl, why are you here?"

It was, of course, Rafiki the Shaman. In a blink of an eye he was next to her, he must have been very used to climbing up and down the tree. His rattly stick was with him as always.

"Why are you here?" he repeated again.

Sarabi cringed, "I didn't know where I was going…I'm sorry, I meant to leave, I really did, but I seem to have run in an odd direction, I think I am still in the Pridelands. I'll leave now, I promise. I'm sorry."

"Oh no, no girl, you misunderstand…why are you _here_ and not back at Pride Rock?"

She was confused for a moment, "But…You were there, Rafiki. You heard what Prince Taka said. How can I go back there, after what I have done?"

"What did you do?" asked the mandrill, bemused.

"I…Well I…"

Rafiki sat down on the grass, signing to Sarabi to do the same.

"You did nothing, girl, and if you listen to everything that Taka tells you, you will not be able to hear anything else – your head will be full of nonsense!"

"Nonsense?"

Rafifki smiled, "Once the hornbill and your friends got a chance to talk and be heard they made it quite clear that you had no intention of killing Zazu, you didn't know who he was! Besides," he added slyly, "Between you and me, sometimes I have an urge to thwack that feathered chatterbox so that he shuts up for just one minute!"

The Princess smiled weakly in return,

"So they don't hate me?"

"No! And if you go back there you will see for yourself!"

The lioness chewed her bottom lip unsurely.

"Don't run if you do not know where you are headed, girl. You are lost, and I suggest you find your way back before it is too late. And you should forgive others as you have yourself been forgiven."

Sarabi did not understand, "But you just said that it was all nonsense!"

"It happened, didn't it?"

"But I didn't do it on purpose!"

"So you see, Princess, that to truly understand an action you must look at the circumstances in which it took place. Goodnight!"

"Was that last bit about my fath-," Sarabi could not finish the question, for as quickly as he appeared, Rafiki climbed back up again.

Perplexed, lost and alone, the lioness exhaled the breath from her lungs and looked around herself. The baobab towered over her, and she tried to figure out the direction that she ran from so that she could make her way back to Pride Rock. Everywhere she turned her gaze to looked unfamiliar, and she pawed about in a frantic circle, trying to spot a familiar direction.

"Where am I?" she exclaimed to herself.

It was then that Mufasa heard her.

"Sarabi?" he called, quickening his pace, "Princess Sarabi?"

Her eyes lit up with relief, and glimmered in the darkness. She hastily called back, and in a few moments he caught up with her.

"Fina was worried," he panted heavily, "No one thinks you're to blame, Princess. I don't know what came over my brother. The last I saw, Dad was giving him a good ol' talking to. You're not going to leave are you?"

She shook her head, any silly thoughts that occupied it seemed to have been dispelled after her conversation with Rafiki.

"I was going to," she admitted, "But then I talked to the mandrill. He found me here, though I don't really know where here is."

Mufasa was thrilled at the news that she would stay. He couldn't keep back the smile that spread through his face.

"You're just East of the Rock," he explained, "Do you want to go back?"

The lioness nodded, but just as the Prince turned to go home, she hesitated and said his name. Mufasa swayed his head round, his mane swung about his eyes.

"Look, I wanted to apologise for being such a hyena," she said sincerely, "I didn't mean for us to start off on the wrong paw. If our fathers decided that we should be mates, then the least I can do is be considerate and calm."

"Don't be silly," he replied, as she walked up to him, "It's not…I mean I…I shouldn't have been so rash. You had every right to get angry."

"Could we pretend that it didn't happen?" asked the Princess pleadingly, "I would much rather start today afresh, without any mistakes. Can we forget about today, and put all our efforts into tomorrow?"

"If you wish," agreed the Heir, as the lions set off towards Pride Rock. They did not know that they were watched by two lively eyes from the crown of the majestic baobab, that Rafiki chuckled to himself as the lion and the lioness made their way back to the Pride. Gleefully he swung down onto his tree platform, and rubbed some colour mixtures onto the smooth trunk wall. If any other animal could get into this tree den (other than birds, of course, but they knew better) they would see the paintings that the shaman made. And this one was of a darkish lioness and a red-maned lion enclosed in a circle. Rafiki was very pleased indeed.

It was true what Sarabi had said, the eldest Prince and the Princess did not talk about Sarabi's first day at the Pridelands much after. In fact, the sole reminder of the events that took place was that every so often an animal would ask poor Zazu how the _pouncing lesson_ went, even Ahadi saw the funny side to it. Zazu would simply ignore the comments. Who were these animals to laugh at him so, when he was the King's advisor, and they were merely subjects?

The days went by, and Sarabi found that she and Sarafina really were becoming friends, to a much greater extent than she had been with any lioness in the Star Pride. Occasionally, the birds would twitter some news about King Storm, and how Prince Sky was growing stronger every day, but she did not take it all too seriously, for the reliability of such gossip was highly questionable.

Sarabi avoided the younger Prince, or rather he avoided her, she would talk to him in passing, and even then it would be her making the first move. Taka also talked to Mufasa less than he used to, but the true rift lay between him and Ahadi. Not one lion in the Pridelands had any idea of what the King told his son after the ceremony, but the speculation was that it was not at all light hearted. Uru watched her son sadly, it tore her insides to see him become this dark lion that she no longer knew. Taka simply sneered at those who stood in his way. One way or another, he would get the throne.

So it was, that on a lazy spring evening, Prince Taka was in a more angry mood than usual, and he perched above the lionesses who lay on the warm, new grass. They were Dawn, Eve and Sarabi. Mufasa was out with Ahadi, there was an important meeting with the Riverside Pride that they had to attend, and Uru was hunting with the Pridelands lionesses, leaving the three newcomers resting under the sun. Taka's green eyes watched keenly, and his ears were perked, listening out for any sort of information he could use to his advantage.

"Sar?" murmured Dawn.

"Mmm?"

"Are you and Mufasa, you know…together?"

Sarabi raised her forequarters from the ground.

"We haven't been wed, Dawn, if that's what you mean. And no, we're not together."

"When is the date, Sarabi?" asked Eve, swatting away annoying flies with her tail.

The Princess bit her lip: the Pride's shaman had already been to see her, and told her that the wedding would take place on the next full moon, a couple of weeks from today. She thought that it was much too soon, but her time was not negotiable. In fact the Pridelands King and Queen wondered why it was taking so long! Reluctantly, as though she did not want to believe it, Sarabi told the date to her friends.

"That's wonderful, dear," supported Eve, "You do think so, don't you?"

"You do want to marry Mufasa, don't you Sar?" asked Dawn, now curious.

"No!" exclaimed the lioness, exasperated, "I thought I would be able to do it, but how I dread the moment! He is so distant and big-nosed, and oh, I miss Dusk! Surely I should forget him by now, but I can't seem to do so. He is with me still, and Mufasa…well, it would be wrong! I mean…what do you think?"

Dawn and Eve shared an eye rolling sort of glance.

"I think you need to let go, dear," started Eve gently, "I really think that you will like the Prince. Dawn?"

"Sarabi, you have been in this frame of mind for a while now. I think that you will make a wonderful Queen, but you first need to get to know Mufasa. He might like the same things as you. Make him your friend, and then you will find this whole thing easier to do."

Sarabi did think that they were right, after all, she did not give Mufasa much of a chance, and decided that she would talk to him tonight.

"Dawn, Sarabi," said Eve in a more serious tone, "I have to tell you the most wonderful news. I am with cub!"

She received a head rub from Dawn, who purred congratulations.

"I wish you happiness and good health," smiled Sarabi, but the thought of Eve becoming a mother made her realise that she would not mind so much having a cub of her own.

Taka scrutinised the scene below, wishing for the Princess to utter another Mufasa insult, other than the big-nosedness that she seemed to fix on. This conversation did not seem to be going fruitfully, and he started to back away silently. However, at that moment, there was a triumphant roar: the lionesses were successful in their hunt. Surely enough a gnu was jammed between Sarafina's jaws as Uru led the party back to Pride Rock. Noticing her son, the orangey lioness and Queen split from the main body of lionesses and sprinted to the right, to see Taka.

"My dear, how are you today?" she asked in a voice that was too loud for Taka's liking.

"Fine," he muttered, trying to give the impression that he did not feel like talking. Uru tilted her head the way that mothers do, and missed the rude hint.

"What are you doing, Taka? Taka?"

"Shush!" he snarled, annoyed.

"Prince Taka?" This was a voice from below, belonging to Dawn, "How long were you sat there?"

Sarabi leapt up to her feet,

"Were you listening to our conversation?"

The Queen heard this too. She took a step forward,

"Is this true, Taka?"

"Leave me alone," he barked, but Uru would not be talked to like that. Her features hardened with anger, and she swished her tail from side to side.

"Son, don't you dare answer me like that! Now were you eavesdropping? Tell me!"

Taka bristled and bared his teeth in reply. The Princess and her friends got up to witness the unfolding scene.

"TAKA! You will do as I say!" growled Uru, and had to immediately step back as Taka swiped at her with his right. His claws narrowly missed her face. As he, shocked by what he almost did, paused, Uru retaliated furiously, and hit him. A roar of pain echoed through the Pridelands, and the lionesses gasped.

"Aunt Uru, the others are waiting for you to divide the kill-, oh my!"

Sarafina was told to fetch the Queen, and she stopped talking as soon as she saw what was happening. Taka looked at the Princess, Eve, Dawn, Sarafina, and finally his mother. With both eyes, but the left was covered with blood. Uru looked at her paw, and the telltale signs of the injury she caused were still there. She moved forward to lick the wound clean.

"Oh, Taka, forgive me!" she sobbed, "I didn't mean for this…but you wouldn't listen!"

The lion moved away, his look frightened Sarafina greatly, sending chills down to her tail.

"I am not your son," he articulated coldly, "You are not my mother anymore. I am no longer Taka, to any of you!" His voice got progressively stronger, fuelled by pain and anger. Towards the end, he was roaring, and the lionesses flinched at the words: "I AM SCAR!"


	13. Wind of Change

Chapter 13: Wind of Change

"He's changed," sobbed Uru in her mate's golden fur, hiding her anxious head in his soft mane, "It's been a week, and his gaze is the same. I see only malice in his eyes, despise. He is not the lion I knew…he is not the son I know."

Ahadi sighed, hunching his shoulders. He twitched his tail.

"I've lost him, Ahadi…to him, I am no longer his mother. How I begged him to forgive me…all in vain…"

"Uru," he whispered hoarsely, "Give him time."

The King felt the weight shift from his neck. He faced his Queen and saw her river-deep liquid eyes, streams running down her muzzle. She took a deep breath,

"With each second that passes he kills me."

The pain inside the King's heart swelled so much he felt that he could scream.

Another sunshine tinted lion perked up his ears and rolled his eyes. The sound which provoked such a reaction started again: "Moofassa!"

Mufasa examined his claws.

"Moo-faaah-saaah!"

"What?!" he growled, "What now?"

"My, we're grumpy," sniggered the orange adolescent slouching about underneath a tree, "Who got up on the wrong paw today, then?"

"What do you want, Taka?"

The latter immediately flipped over onto his feet and narrowed his eyes,

"What did I tell you? WHAT did I tell you to call me now?"

"Scab," mocked Mufasa, "Or Wound," he smirked lopsidedly, "Boo-boo?"

"Foolish cat!" hissed the younger Prince, "You think you're so clever! I am Scar, Mufasa, but you don't seem to remember that. Now I want you to get Sarafina over here."

Mufasa turned his head to the right; Sarafina dozed peacefully some tail lengths ahead.

"You can't get her yourself?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who's the invalid here?"

"It's you," agreed the Heir, "Mental instability."

Scar tread up to his older brother, "I think your diagnosis is rather fit for Uru."

Mufasa did not wish to tolerate such disrespect,

"She's the Queen and your mother, _Scar_."

"She is a good-for-nothing hyena, elected to replace Ahadi's first wife and chase zebra. Behold me, the sad by-product of their union, never to be King, and shunned by the Pride. What mother does _this_ to her cub?" he asked rhetorically, pointing to the ugly scar over his left eye, "She is no mother of mine."

"We all know it were you who attacked her first, Prince."

Scar whirled round. Sarabi stood majestically, her head held high, her accusation powered by her fight for truth. He lowered his tail.

"Only to…uh…warn her. Yes, to warn her that I was not to be argued with."

"You were eavesdropping, Scar, and your mother was right to question you."

"Your word against mine, Princess," he spat.

"Don't forget us!" Eve and Dawn walked up beside Storm's daughter. They saw everything as well.

"She's still a disgrace! She is not fit to rule the kingdom, and she is not worthy of a son!"

There was a gasp, a sad, disappointed gasp, that came from behind Mufasa, for none other than Uru chose that particular moment to wander up to the lions, and of course she heard what was said about her.

"Uru," began the Heir, but she needed no explanation. There was no hope left anymore. There was no love left. The lioness dedicated herself entirely to her son, and now he rebutted her, he detested her. With her mouth still half open, she drew her watery gaze around the group of lions, and backed away. The lions became quickly silent, and just as that happened, a sleepy voice cut through the choking air of sympathy surrounding them,

"What was that awful noise?"

"You always miss the commotion, don't you, Fina?" smirked Scar. He watched his mother's, no, _Uru's_ horrified expression form on her face as he said those words, and he was glad. She always got in his way, ever since he was born, _she_ was always there, telling him to wash himself, asking what he did during the brief time she was separated from him, telling him not to play with his food, looking out for him wherever he went. True, he was weak and scrawny at birth, at least that was the way that Sarafina put it to him, and perhaps all of those things that Uru did would not have been so bad, if it were not for one fact – that she was a traitor to him. She loved Mufasa as much as she loved Scar. She pawed her way into Ahadi's life, taking on the role that Akase left behind. She was no relation to Mufasa, and she still made sure he ate his zebra and licked his nose before bedtime.

At the same time, Uru managed to suffocate Scar with her care, and to repel him by offering the same care to Mufasa.

"What'd I miss?" asked Sarafina, surprised, and slightly more awake. She stretched, and picked her way across the grass to join the group.

"The things he said…" murmured Sarabi emptily, "It was awful. It was beyond hate…"

Mufasa glared at his brother, disbelieving that he spoke about the Queen in such a way. He could find nothing to say. Sarafina looked at the others, still trying to figure out what happened.

"Well then," smiled Taka sinisterly, narrowing his green eyes into little slits and allowing his lip to curl high at the corner of his mouth, "I'll be off. I was just going to ask you, Sarafina, whether you were going to go hunting again sometime soon. I'm a bit hungry, that's all."

"No," she replied flatly, "I went yesterday. Go get your own food."

Eve and Dawn looked at Taka disprovingly.

"You know what, perhaps I will," he turned to leave, and added, "I could insult a rabbit to death."

Sarafina gasped, "Is that what he did? I mean not with the rabbit. I mean with Uru."

Sarabi nodded, "I don't want anyone to be spoken to like that, Fina. He was heartless. Maybe somebody should talk to Uru?"

"I'll go," Mufasa offered, "He doesn't realise…the fool…he doesn't know how lucky he is," he reflected bitterly, "…to have a mother."

Once he left, Sarabi remained melancholy. She thought about the things that she had said to her parents over the years. She thought a lot about her father. Was she really that cruel to him? Was life really this bad here, as unbearable as she thought it would be? He tried to set her out on a good life, a life far better than what she would have experienced in the Star Pride, and she – left without properly saying goodbye. She also wished to see her mother and Sky again, to tell them that she loved them and for them never to doubt it. Suddenly, the Princess felt very homesick.

Eve picked up on the feeling, and touched Sarabi's head with hers.

"Perhaps the King will arrange a visit, Sarabi. You'll see them again."

The lioness did not answer.

"Mufasa is so kind," said Sarafina softly, her eyes following his trail, "He really didn't deserve such things to happen to him…"

Sarabi did not let Mufasa's consideration for the Queen slip by unnoticed. He was a lot less arrogant to her now than when they first met. She felt very confused, and let out a sigh. Oh, when would things sort themselves out?

Things started to sort themselves out fairly quickly after.

"How is she?" asked the Princess when she saw Mufasa come back down.

"She wouldn't say much. I mean…I reassured her that he was just going through a phase, and she nodded, but, Sarabi," and he looked at the lioness sadly, "In her eyes there was no response. I don't think she believes me. In fact, I don't think that I would believe me."

Sarabi lowered her ears and her eyes. She had grown to like Uru, and to see her devastated face when she heard Taka's – Scar's – abuse, was heartbreaking. The Princess shifted her weight about her paws.

"This whole thing made me think…about many things. I don't know where to start. I need to see my father, my family. They may not be the best, but, oh, it took Uru's pain for me to realise how awfully I had behaved to my father. And I wanted to thank you, for being so considerate. I think that you will one day make a great King. I am happy to be your friend."

And then Ahadi's son leaned in and touched her head with his, just the slightest little rub, a feathery-light connection that was over as quickly as it came. It was so gentle that Sarabi was not even taken aback.

"And I want to thank you for being my friend too," he said, pulling away.

Sarafina, who was _pretending_ to be asleep, smiled. Her plan was working very well. She feinted a large yawn: tongue, teeth and all, and stretched from nose to tail tip. Blinking profusely as though she had just woken up, she padded over to Sarabi, who was staring at the spot where Mufasa stood just a minute before.

"Hey," she greeted her pride sister, "Have you seen Mufasa?"

"Mmm," replied Sarabi.

"Well, is Aunt Uru okay?"

Sarabi was slowly brought back to the present world.

"Oh. No. No, not really. Fina, he talked to her, but he thinks she's beyond it. I only hope that Scar sees his mistake before it's too late."

Sarafina nuzzled the darker lioness reassuringly, "Maybe he will. It's not like he would hate his own mother forever!"

Seeing that her friend was still miserable, Sarafina decided that it would be a good time for her to let her secret out, and no, not the secret that you are thinking of!

"Hey Sarabi," she called after a slight pause, "Do you…notice anything different about me?"

The Princess squinted, and looked the creamy lioness up and down.

"Should I?"

"It's difficult to say," responded Sarafina, smiling, "Have you noticed any changes in…my behaviour?"

"You sleep a lot," chuckled Sarabi, her lips tempted into the smallest smile.

"Do I?" asked Sarafina oh so slyly, "Must've been because I missed out a couple of nights ago!"

"Sarafina!" exclaimed Sarabi, her eyes wide, and her mouth spreading into a smile, "Is that supposed to mean what I think it means?"

The lioness shut her eyes and wider, "What are _you_ thinking?"

"Fina!!!" laughed Sarabi, "But…who? I mean…It's not Taka, is it?"

Sarafina made a face, "Lord, no! No! How could you even consider…that _I_ would consider…no…this one's a rogue!"

Sarabi looked at her friend with mischievously questioning eyes, and Sarafina continued,

"I can feel it…I'm with his cub!"

Sarabi rose on her back legs, sending her forelegs up, and her ears back in happiness for her friend, "Fina, that's terrific! That's great! Oohh," a thought crossed her mind as she set back down again, "Does the Pridelands pride allow this?" she inquired. Back at the Star Pride, all cubs were of the King's blood, and Sarabi knew of many lion cubs fathered by rogue lions who were slaughtered or expelled.

"My Uncle changed the law when we dropped in number. It's vital – otherwise we'll die out. Plus the variation in the blood can only be for the best. He is so strong and lean and beautiful…it can only go as a benefit to the Pride."

The pale lioness swayed gently, dreamily, "He is so amazing, Sarabi…He's wonderful. And I just know that this cub will be wonderful too. You're the first soul I've told, even my own mother doesn't know."

"I think that the news will go down well. The Pride look like they need to cheer up, Uru especially."

There was a brisk patter of paws on stone as Dawn made her way to the lionesses hurriedly,

"Sarabi! Oh, Sarafina, there you are! Come along you two, the King has called a meeting!"

Sharing a troubled glance between them, the two friends followed Dawn to the Pride Cave.

"We're leaving."

All lionesses assembled in a huddle, including the Heir, listened to their King and Queen make the farewell speech. Uru was deeply hurt by Taka's – Scar's – words. She could not be around him anymore, for he was the reminder to her of the great wrong she had done, and the spite in his every move toward her was unbearable. She announced her decision to Ahadi shortly after Mufasa came to see her. She loved that cub, but she loved Taka more, and he tore her heart right out, shredding it with his needle-sharp claws, and laughing. This was her pay for dedicating her whole life to him. She was certain that she would leave the Pride. King Ahadi, though, having already lost one mate, was not about to let Uru go so easily. He tried to persuade her to stay, but both realised that the pain would be the end of her. Besides, Ahadi thought, Mufasa was old enough, he was marrying Sarabi soon anyway, and both of the lions were responsible and mature. It was a good arrangement that he made with King Storm, the lionesses were kind and strong, able to feed and increase the Pridelands pride. Ahadi felt that he would be leaving the Pride in safe paws, and he would not lose Uru.

"Mufasa, tonight, Rafiki will perform the ceremony. Tonight, you will be King, and Sarabi, my dear, you will be Queen. Uru and I will go into the Savannah, away from the place which has brought us both pain. But we had happy memories here too, much more so than the sad ones, and it will be hard for us to leave. I am old, and my reign is over as it is, Mufasa is fit to be the King, and I am sure that he will rule as well as I did, if not better. My Pride, my lionesses, this is goodbye."

Uru had moist fur around her eyes. She remained silent for most of the meeting, but said a few words, namely how sorry she was that things had to come to this. The lionesses bowed their heads and the meeting was over, Uru and Sarafina's mother went for an evening walk to say their long goodbyes. Sarabi, meanwhile, was shocked. She stayed inside the cavern as Mufasa and Ahadi went outside for some final father-son talks, and her gaze caught that of Eve's.

"Eve," she whispered, "I'm not ready! Not tonight! Oh, I don't love him, Eve! I thought I had some time, and I thought that maybe…I would….I haven't told anyone about this! What must I do?"

"Sarabi, dear," purred Eve, "Remember to breathe, and to take things as they come."

"But Eve!"

"Child, if you carry on like this, you will never be ready."

She left to find Uru, and Sarabi remained by herself. She thought now, that Taka did not come to the meeting. The next few hours, Sarabi lay with her head on her paws, anxious about her future as the Queen.

The Pride and animals gathered at the foot of Pride Rock, and the King and Queen ascended it for the last time. Rafiki said his blessings to the lion and lioness, and the cats below roared, and the other animals bowed. The wind blew strong that evening, and the sun had started to set. Majestically and sorrowfully, pawstep by pawstep, Ahadi and his love Uru came down from the height, their heads held tall, their eyes pinching with tears. Then, father and son shared a look, and Mufasa turned to face Sarabi, and the two of them went up together. This time, the animals responded with cheer, as Rafiki wedded the couple under the lilac sky.When he was finished, he stepped to one side, and Sarabi, following Mufasa's example, took in a deep breath so that her lungs swelled, shut her eyes, and let out a loud roar that touched the plains, the subjects and the heavens. She was Mufasa's wife, and she was the Queen. Mufasa noticed a dark figure crawl near the group of cheetahs on the ground, a little to the left of the Pride. His green eyes glinted even in the evening, and his black mane was windswept. He did not bow, or cheer. He gave the new rulers a look of discontent, and carried that over to the old lioness who was no longer Queen. Scar had come at last, though the young King was unsure if his presence was desirable. Sarabi did not notice him.

After the ceremony, once the animals had left and the air of excitement died down, Scar was heard saying his 'farewell' to Uru. This was reported by a friend of Sarafina's mother. Uru, turning to leave, decided to say "Goodbye, my son," to the younger Prince. He, in return, lifted up his head as though to say goodbye, but then something changed, his eyebrows closed in together, and he replied, "Are you still here? When will you leave?"

"We're leaving now, your father and I," answered Uru.

"Oh good," smirked Scar, and walked away.

Not once did Uru look back as she and Ahadi left Pride Rock forever.

Sarabi was sat on the tip of Pride Rock, grimly looking down. The moon was large, and it illuminated the land below. The light was so clear that the Queen (she could still not get used to being one) could pick out every individual blade of grass. She felt shifty of going inside the cave, and rested outside, breathing in the night air.

"Sarabi," whispered a voice behind her. It was Mufasa, she didn't even need to turn around to see him.

"I want you to come with me. I want to show you something."

Sarabi unwittingly bristled, but got up and faced him. He tipped his head back, pointing with his muzzle to the top of Pride Rock that seemed to be far up in the stars, and his mane caught the moonlight like ripples on water.

"Up there," he added.

Silently, the lions walked up the steep path that wound itself round the tall rock, until at last Mufasa stopped.

"Now," he said, "it's a couple of pawsteps up, but I want you to shut your eyes."

Slightly nervous at stepping blind at such a height, Sarabi obeyed, and, heart beating rather faster than usual, completed her treck under Mufasa's guidance.

She felt a nudge on her shoulder.

"Now you can look," he whispered in a deep voice.

Unsurely, the Queen prised open one eye, and couldn't keep herself from gasping: both eyes flew fully opened now, and her mouth as well. She was speechless, for before her there spread a panorama of landscape that was not seen from the lower rock she sat on before. Shimmering, trees and hills over the distance, blue-toned sands, and liquid silver rivers, dark canyons and tall mountains in the faraway horizon, this view was the most beautiful that the lioness had ever seen, and she took it all in, the specs that were the sleeping elephants, and the leopard community at the edge of the jungle, all in calm, dark tones, all etched in great detail on the Pridelands, all embossed by the moonlight, under the stars.

"Oh my…" she whispered after what seemed like an eternity, "It's beautiful! It's…I can't even describe it, Mufasa! Thank you for showing this to me."

"This," he motioned to the lands, "This all belonged to my father, and his father, and so on, up to our great ancestor. With my father stepping down, this is my kingdom. And Sarabi, more than anything, I want to share it with you, I want this to be our kingdom. I don't want to cause you any pain or grief, I do not wish to scare you, but I have been in love with you since the moment that you first came here, when we were just cubs."

She watched him, and he continued,

"I saw you and I loved you, and I love your ear rims…I was foolish then, I didn't know what to say other than that they were funny. And then you came here a week ago, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. And I just want you to know that. I know you may not – do not feel the same way about me, but…there. I've said it. Sarabi, you mean the world to me. You are my kingdom, my life, my love. You are amazing. I only hope that you will not scold me for such thoughts."

For Sarabi, this was too much information at once. She wasn't angry, or was she? She couldn't pinpoint her emotions, or focus her thoughts. She gazed at the breathtaking landscape before her, unsure of what to reply.

"I'll leave you for the night, then," said Mufasa, and turned to walk down to the cave, biting his lip as he started the narrow-pathed descent, because he was sure, now that he let her know, she would never feel the same way about him as he felt about her.

The sky and the lands and the stone called to Sarabi; she was in turmoil, and her tail swiped furiously across the floor, this way and that. She shut her eyes, trying to understand something, anything, she tried to move, but nothing worked. Then she threw her head to the sky, and the moon and the stars. Filled with their light, all suddenly became very clear, her confusion melted away and she leapt to her feet. Glancing down, she saw that the King was halfway down the path.

"Mufasa!" she shouted, "Mufasa! I love you!"

* * *

Author's note: Won't be an update for a while, I have major exams!


	14. Long Live The King

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!   
**Author's Note**: Oh wow, thanks for the reviews and the prodding to update. I had exams, and then I went on a 2 week holiday. Now, I'm back with my comp! Also, I don't start uni til October – woohoo! So I expect to have finished this monumental story by then. Thanks again to all, and do keep reading!  
  
Sarabi   
Chapter 14: Long Live the King  
  
When morning broke and sunlight streamed into the cave from the entrance, bathing the sleeping lionesses, Sarabi still slept soundly, her gentle head resting comfortably in the softness of Mufasa's mane. They lay close together, their minds in pleasant dreams, on the Royal Bed, a slab of stone that was raised a tail tip above the floor of the cave, and they had good reason, too, for when they came back inside it was very early, rather than very late.  
  
"K'hem," said a feeble voice, but the King slept on.   
Zazu dropped his shoulders and sighed. This was going to be a lot harder than waking King Ahadi, who rid himself of all sleep a good hour before the sun greeted the Pridelands.   
"K'hem k'hem!" he repeated, a little louder.   
The King snored, and the hornbill's feathers ruffled in the expelled air. The bird shook himself to a more presentable state. He waited for a moment, and tried again,   
"Uh, S-sire? Would you please care to...wake up?"   
Mufasa flexed his paws, but showed no sign of response, or awareness, for that matter. Now, this was not going well. Zazu had many things to do today, and he was already behind schedule with the morning report. His temper had gotten the better of him, and he leaned forward, pressing his index feather right to the King's nose,   
"Now look here, Sire, you can't just go about sleeping all day, so wake UP!"  
  
Mufasa's eyes sprang open, he was slightly startled to find his majordomo pressing his nose with his wing, and immediately Zazu stepped back, cowering.   
"Please don't eat me!" he pleaded, all authority gone from his voice.   
"What do you want, Zazu?" asked the King fighting back a yawn, and whispering softly as not to wake Sarabi.   
"The morning report, Sire," whimpered the hornbill, "It is the procedure..."  
  
Mufasa frowned, he was still half asleep,   
"But my father never got the morning report until a later time in the day, when the sun is high and the shadows are short," he argued.   
"Sire," said Zazu tiredly, "That was the afternoon report..."   
Mufasa rolled his eyes. He was quite looking forward to lying next to his beautiful wife and Queen, feeling her warm body next to his. With a sideways glance at the other lionesses who were asleep as well, the King ever so gently turned over onto his side, and Sarabi slid off him, to lie peacefully on the rock warmed by Mufasa's bulk. She uttered a slight meow through her dreams, but did not wake up. Looking lovingly at Sarabi, and less so at Zazu, Mufasa tiptoed out of the cave, and onto the Pride Rock sloping stone peninsula. It was his first morning as King, as husband, as ruler and lover. Responsibilities swarmed round him, but glaring at Zazu in not such a friendly way and noticing the fresh scents of early morning in the air around, Mufasa thought that he may make his first changes to rules as King.   
"Zazu," he chimed, not waiting for the bird's reply of 'Sire', "Let's make a few changes to the scheduling of such reports from now on..."  
  
For the newlyweds, life was indeed sweet. The pride respected their new King and Queen, and though both were busy, they found more than enough time to spend in each other's company. What was said out loud on the top of Pride Rock was said for the best: the truth came as a relief to both of the royal lions, to Sarabi because she could finally let go of her past, and to Mufasa, because he let his feelings out to her. Free from inner demons, at least for the time being, the couple enjoyed the authority that they inherited from Ahadi and Uru. Mufasa seldom spoke of them, other than to say 'I hope that they are allright', but often he would get a look in his eyes, as though he was gazing faraway into the lands where his father and Uru, allright, his mother, for that is what she became to him, probably were. It was in times like these that Sarabi would pad over to her husband, lay her head on his shoulder, and they would silently watch the distance together.  
  
Taka no longer existed in the Pride Lands, he was Scar, and the lions had learned to address him in that way only, if they were to get a reply. His behaviour was puzzling to all who spoke to him, he would have mood swings, going from one extreme to another, first speaking as sweetly as lily nectar, then suddenly snapping or growling. Behind his green eyes there stirred a jealousy of his brother's perfect life, notably the Kingdom that he was in charge of. He would disappear for periods at a time during the day, come back covered in soot, dust, or suchlike, and say nothing of what he had been up to. Mufasa grew progressively worried, but Sarafina consoled him, mentioning that the fact that Scar was on speaking terms with everybody was a good sign, and that he was going through one of those 'phases'. However Scar was nearly mature, his mane, black as the savannah night, swathed his face and neck, and he was almost fully grown. What no Pride Landers admitted, not even to themselves, was that they were afraid of those green orbs, black mane, sharp claws. They feared him for his unpredictability, his extremism, and the silence. Scar drank all of this in, knowing his position and the effect his aura had on the pride. He would make use of it, one way or another...  
  
Time flowed like the crystal river, but shortly some news would disturb the peace of the pride.  
  
Though Mufasa rearranged Zazu's morning reports so that he wouldn't have to get up quite so early, one day he was awakened by a pecking at his ear. The hornbill came into focus, and Mufasa tilted his head to one side, surely it was not yet time for the morning report! He glanced round, the cave was full with lionesses (Scar slept in a den by himself) which meant that daybreak had not come. He looked at Zazu questioningly.   
"My sincere apologies, Sire, but I just heard from my father, most urgent news, my King."   
Mufasa lazily raised an eyebrow.   
"My King," Zazu almost growled in frustration, "We need to talk...alone."   
The golden lion had no choice but to follow his majordomo out of the cave and into the still pre-dawn outside.  
  
The Queen of the Pridelands did, on the other hand, receive her beauty sleep. She now had the slab warmed by Mufasa all to herself, and for the rest of the morning she made sure to occupy as much space as she could. It was only when she felt a nudge at her head that she decided that it was time to open her eyes.   
"Fina!" she exclaimed, then paused to yawn, "Good morning!"   
But Sarafina found it hard to smile back. She sniffed, and looked to the side to gather her thoughts to break some news to Sarabi, and when she locked onto her eyes again, her own eyes were about to spill tears. Sarabi wiped away any lingering sleep with her paw and felt her body go rigid. Whatever Sarafina had to say, Sarabi knew that it would not be good at all.   
"Fina..." she whispered in a shuddery breath.   
"Sarabi...I'm sorry...I," but Sarafina could not even finish her sentence.   
"It's bad?" Sarabi's eyebrow rose inquisitively, but she could feel what the answer would be. "Afraid so, Sarabi. The birds have been twittering, you know? At first I didn't pay any attention, but then I heard your name, and some other things, and then Zazu arrived, and confirmed it all..."   
The Queen leapt from her bed, eyes wide, "What? What is it?" she begged in a low, crackling voice.   
Sarafina glanced behind for support, and Sarabi now saw Mufasa, with Zazu at his paws, take a slow step towards her. The King was not one to paint pictures with words, or to take unnecessary time when there was a need for straight facts, and this was one of those times. Sarabi was bristling with anxiety, and Mufasa saw no other choice than to tell her outright,   
"Your father is dying."  
  
"Dying..?" she echoed, with an edge of disbelief. Her auburn irises traced the outline of her sockets, following the cave wall, ceiling and floor, as her mouth gaped in shock. She took that step back that she did whenever she felt threatened, overcome. Gushed with a plethora of feelings, she could hear only her husband's words in her head, and the images of her father as she remembered him rolled through her mind like running antelope, one after another, the protective father, the political father, the cold, the stern, the commanding, but also the small, on that night when they walked together, and the afraid, for she did not tell him that she loved him then. Consciousness gnawing at her heart like hyenas at a gnu carcass, Sarabi remembered that she did not even say goodbye in the way that she ought to have.   
"And now I never will..." she said to herself.   
"Sarabi?" asked Mufasa, who couldn't quite hear the words that were not meant for anyone but the Queen.   
"How is he? How bad is he?"

"He cannot walk now, madam," cut in Zazu in a sombre voice, "And he has trouble breathing. He still has some time. Not a lot, but some."  
"Thank you," she whispered, and immediately made for the cave entrance.  
"Where are you going, Sarabi, asked Sarafina, finally finding words.  
"I'm going to get Eve and Dawn," she replied, "and then I'm going to see my father."  
"I'll go with you!" boldly exclaimed Mufasa, but Sarabi walked over to her mate and leaned into his warm mane so that nobody would see her tears fall.   
"My love," she managed, "Your kingdom needs you here, and I will need you when I come back. But this is something that cannot wait. He has some time left, but that is not nearly enough."   
"I'm sorry about your father," purred Mufasa, for he knew all too well what it was like to lose a parent.   
"Not as sorry as I am," admitted Sarabi, but her soft words were silenced by the King's mane, and they were said more to herself than to anyone else. She withdrew from the embrace, and turned to find that Sarafina had already called up Eve and Dawn to the cave. Both were upset – they loved Storm as the protector of the Star Pride and as a friend. Eve knew the King from their cubhood, and she stooped her shoulders as a sign of condolence and respect.   
"Goodbye!" mouthed Sarabi to the lions in the cave, and with a springing of the leg she flew from Pride Rock, back towards the home she left a while ago, her two companions at her tail.  
  
'There she runs, the poor dear Queen', chirped the birds in the azure sky to one another, 'See her cross the fields, under the trees, over the Common Land, back to the pride. See her run, like the winds, like the waterfalls, all the way back, where her father is dying.'  
  
Meanwhile, Mufasa paced underneath the baobab that belonged to Rafiki.   
"Isn't there anything that you can do?"   
"I already told you – nothing," came the distant shout from above.   
Angered, the King leapt up to the tree, but his claws were no match for the smooth hard trunk. Grinding his teeth, Mufasa slid back down to the ground.   
"Rrrafikiiii!" he roared as soon as he felt the earth on his pawpads, "This is an order! Come down this ins-"   
"Sire," bowed Rafiki, standing behind Mufasa already, "I apologise. There is nothing that I can do. His time has come, as all our time will come."   
"But," began the lion, and Rafiki interrupted again,   
"I am no god. I make no destinies. If I could cure King Storm, I would, but my boy, you have to get it through to you, I am powerless before some things, like this, and I can do nothing."   
Exasperated, Mufasa collapsed on the grass, and the mandrill petted his mane.   
"She will get through this, and she will come back to you. She will learn to forgive, and she is lucky, for enough time has been granted to her."  
  
Across the lands and nearing the gushing river, three lionesses raced home, their paws only connecting with the ground for the smallest instant, and the landscape zoomed past them in a blur.   
"Sarabi?!" came a hoarse shout, "Sarabi, is that you? And Eve, and Dawn?"   
The Star Pride Princess slowed down and glanced up, ahead of her stood a pale lion with an equally pale mane and blue eyes, looking at her and her friends. She did not even pause to recognise her brother.   
"Sky!" she exclaimed, and pounced straight into an embrace.   
"I missed you sis!" he said back warmly and quickly, she noticed only then that his voice had deepened. As she drew back and her two friends caught up with her, Sky's brief smile fell.   
"He's not so good, Sarabi. I hate to say it...but I don't think he'll last long at all."   
"What happened?" she asked, her own voice dry and foreign to her all of a sudden, "He's young, Sky. Why now?"   
"To tell you the truth, sis, we don't know. Mother thinks that it's some sort of poison, but we can't tell. Father won't tell us, even if he does know what it is. All that I can say is that he's been getting worse since yesterday morning."   
"How is Aurora?" asked Eve sorrowfully, and her ears drooped as she looked at the Prince.   
"Mother's coming to terms. She's with him now. To see all of you, especially you, Sarabi, will be a welcome distraction to her. To be honest, none of us thought that you would make it here in time."   
"Dawn!" came a shout from a mound further up, and a lioness darted eagerly to join the four.   
Remaining silent up til now, Dawn's mournful face lit up as she was reunited with her mother.   
Briefly rubbing heads and purring, the lionesses now looked at Sky, so that he may lead them to see their King.  
  
One silhouette was bending over the lying form of King Storm, at his right side. Sarabi and the others recognised the flawless profile as the Queen of the Star Pride.   
"Please eat," beseeched Aurora, her voice full of tears that her eyes did not shed, "Please. You have to eat."   
"Why?" he asked.   
"Because...Because I say so. Because I caught it for you."   
"I'm not going to get better, Aurora. I know now what my father was babbling about before he died. I pitied him then, you know, the nonsense he was telling me. I see now that it is not so, that I can feel it nearing, like the night ends the daylight, and no matter what you do you can't prevent it."   
There was a long and steady intake of breath,   
"But you can eat this hare...for me..."   
"For you, my love...anything."   
She cried then, because the one thing that she wanted, the only thing she wanted, she couldn't have.  
  
"Mother," whispered Sarabi, the others keeping a respectful distance.   
Aurora slowly turned her head to face her daughter, whom she had not seen in months. Her dark lips upturned into a soft smile.   
"Sarabi," she called out, "Love! My sweet child, you're here!"   
"Sarabi?" repeated Storm, who did not ever think that he would live to see his daughter again.  
  
That evening, Sarabi sat by her father's side, willing him to live, to recover, whilst knowing that he would not.   
"Father," she began, "I have something to tell you. I have been keeping it inside me ever since I left here, sometimes pretending that it didn't exist, at other times telling myself it's not my fault, but now I have to face it. I am sorry for the way I treated you. I see now that you wanted me to make the most of my life. That being Mufasa's wife would be better for me than staying in the Star Pride. And I want to apologise for not saying goodbye to you when I had to leave. I am only thankful that I have this chance, now, to tell you how I feel."   
"Darling," he said, having never addressed her as that before, "For once, I would like to hear you call me Dad."   
"Daddy," she choked, tears prickling her eyes, "How many times have I been wanting to call you that..."   
It was an evening of repent and exculpation for the lions in the Star Pride. Storm talked to his firstborn as Sky leaned in to his mother for comfort, his head resting neatly under her chin. Aurora looked on through liquid eyes, and small droplets on her whiskers – she had wept all she could.  
  
"Hey," said Dawn to Sarabi as the latter was taking a break and letting her brother spend time with the King, "I talked to my mother. She says that Dusk is doing well, and...yeah....I thought that you might like to....know."   
"I thought I would have liked to know," said the Star Pride Princess sincerely, "But now I realise that I am indifferent. It is lovely to know that your brother is fine, Dawn. Only I feel nothing, other than contentment at the news. My heart, thoughts and soul are with the lion I left at Pride Rock, and with the lion that lies there, ill. Thank you for telling me, I do appreciate it. It's just that I think I've finally done what you have all been telling me to do."   
"Moved on?" suggested Dawn, and Sarabi smiled sheepishly.   
"That's good," said Dusk's sister, "But letting go doesn't necessarily mean forgetting. Dusk still thinks about you, only the best memories, no less. He treasures you as a friend," Dawn picked her words carefully, "So you shouldn't just...destroy your past."   
"I know," assured Sarabi, "I know..."  
  
For two nights the lionesses stayed in Star Pride. For two nights Sarabi lay close to Storm. And on the morning of the third day, the children, Sarabi and Sky, woke up to the empty eyes of Aurora. She nuzzled her daughter, then her son. Looking at Sky, she gathered strength enough to say,   
"Your father has passed. Long live the new King."  
  
When Sky roared, accepting the throne and kingdom from the late King, the lionesses roared back, and the Star Pride lands were filled with a deep rumble of sadness. Sky's reign would be long and prosperous, but for now Sky, Sarabi and the pride mourned the loss of Storm.


	15. Simba

Disclaimer: I don't own any original characters; they are the property of Disney's storywriters. I do own the ones you haven't heard of, though. They are mine!!!

Author's Note: As you can probably tell, this story isn't over yet, and I have not, repeat - NOT - given up on it. Very very busy. Isn't uni fun?

Sarabi  
Chapter 15: Simba

Wounds heal with time, as every huntress knows, and sore gashes on the heart, too, mend with the passing of days. The Queen of the Pridelands was almost back to her usual self. She was at home – with Mufasa – and surrounded by her friends. Although Sarabi was a little reluctant to leave her mother and Sky, the two insisted she return to her mate. Sky chose a lovely lioness to be the Queen of the Star Pride, and brought on the first change of the Law for generations: the firstborn cub would be the Heir, regardless of whether it were male or female, and the Queen was given greater executive power and authority. The lions of the Star Pride welcomed these laws, for the old laws were generally created to benefit the King, and a select few others, depending on how the cards were played, and how many wildebeest one managed to kill. These amendments to the way of life were seen as fairer and better, so whilst Storm was still regarded as a wise ruler, Sky was the future of the Pride. Aurora was very proud of her children, though she grieved for her husband. With the land that was acquired through the exchange of lionesses, prey grew and wandered to the initial Star Pride territory. Slowly but surely, gazelle, zebra, antelope and hares appeared on the plains. Sky was looking forward to being King in anticipation. Sarabi made sure that she and Eve and Dawn left the Pride at the best possible time for her family.

One day at the Pridelands, Sarabi awoke earlier than usual. Mufasa was sleeping heavily next to her, and she could sense that the sun had not yet risen. The cave was submerged in twilight, a peculiar stage in the cycle of the day, and the moisture in the air was fresh in her nostrils. After a brief sweep of the cave with her auburn eyes, Sarabi found that she was the only soul awake.  
Why? She thought, and took a moment to see if there was something wrong with her. Usually the Queen would wake after the sun did.  
Do I have a headache? Stomach ache? Muscle ache? Did I fall asleep early yesterday? Am I cold? Hungry? Thirsty?  
Sarabi mentally checked each body part from whisker to tailtip, and could find nothing wrong. But there was this peculiar feeling, yes, a very odd sensation indeed…she couldn't quite place a paw on it…it was as though she looked at the world from a different perspective, as though she felt more alive, more whole than she thought possible…as though she was the essence of life, teeming with love, care, light and beauty. She felt that she was sort of glowing from within.  
Perplexed, the lioness glanced at Mufasa. Suddenly, she froze mid-breath, tingling with icy realisation (her mother's words 'you'll just _know_'now echoed in her ears) and was surprised to feel not afraid, but relieved. A smile swam over her face and her eyes lit up: this must have been the moment that she was waiting for.  
"I am!" Sarabi whispered to herself, "I am! I know it! I must be!"  
She nudged Mufasa's cheek gingerly yet lovingly.  
"Umph..?" he said, not being a morning feline.  
"Mufasa," she half spoke in a subdued voice, full of excitement, "I'm expecting!"  
"Expecting what?" he asked, using tremendous strength to keep his eyes open and focussed on his wife. Sarabi cuffed him lightly on the ear.  
"Expecting your child, you sleepy lion!"  
"That's nice, dear," he said, yawning, and put his head back down on his paws. A second later his head flew up, and he was looking very much awake.  
"My child?" he asked, not bothering to keep quiet, "My cub?"  
"Well, _our_ cub," his wife corrected herself.  
"Sarabi, are you serious? That's amazing! It's wonderful! Oh, Sarabi, I love you! You have to know that! You do know that, don't you? Cause I love you, my beautiful cat! And we're going to be parents! We're having a cub!"  
"Yeeeee!" came an exultant squeal from a pale lioness, who moments before was blissfully dreaming, but was awakened by the bellow of her cousin (and not the only one to have woken up at that), "Congratulations, you two, it's about time!"  
"I'm pregnant, Sarafina," stated Sarabi, eyes sparkling, "You were right, I knew it, it's just like you said you felt!"  
"And how would she know what to feel?" asked a lethargic voice from behind.  
"Mother!" squeaked Sarafina, and stooped her ears low in embarrassment, "Uhh…"  
"I thought you told her!" hissed the Queen apologetically as Sarafina narrowed her eyes in the most murderous way.  
"Way to go, Sarabi," winked Dawn quietly, walking over to the King and Queen, and then saying, "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" for all the pride to hear.

Not one to miss news by a longshot, Zazu flew into the cave, and spent a good while well-wishing the parents-to-be. Later he was joined by his father, and then Sarabi and Mufasa had a testing time in keeping a straight face, for Major Zeek seemed overly keen on recounting various stories of Zazu as a chick and the discipline that all parents must exercise on their offspring, as it is solely for _their_ good. Zazu's face burned in crimson hell, and Eve, listening in on the discussion (for she, too, was carrying a cub) couldn't quite understand whether the 'they' that Major Zeek referred to were the children or the parents. Mufasa managed to steal a glimpse at Sarafina, who was following her mother out of the cave.

"Would you just say something? Mom? I need you to speak to me!"  
Alana kept her jaw firm but gave her daughter a disgusted look.  
"Mo-om!" choked Sarafina, "You're doing it again. You're overreacting!"  
At this, the older lioness's eyebrows lifted up, as if to say 'Oh really now?'  
The daughter composed herself and began again, "Mom, I am a grown lioness! I didn't do anything wrong! But," she admitted, "I'd very much like it if you were here for me. To help me through this."  
Her mother finally broke the silence spell.  
"Did you ever know your father, Sarafina?""No," she mouthed.  
"What have I told you about him?"  
"That he was a lone rogue."  
"Fina, I can't believe that you can't see the parallel! I thought that you would learn from my mistake, and that you'd get married into some stable relationship, that you'd have a pride, here or elsewhere, and that your cub would grow up with both parents, and not just one."  
"It'll have both parents! You think that he'll drop me, just like that? We love each other, Mom."  
"Sarafina, you are so naïve! Wake up, child! He's a nomad, so do you know what that means? He'll switch his territory with a flick of the tail, he'll die of hunger because he cannot hunt, he'll get himself killed in a confrontation with another male or in trying to take over a pride! He's unstable, and that's the way he likes it. Live today, die tomorrow, it's all good if they get to sleep with silly girls like you!"  
Sarafina's ears flattened with anger this time. She leapt up close to her mother, her own face inches away from hers.  
"Lies!" she growled, "You just think that every lion is the same as the lion that rubbed you up and gave you me for a daughter!"  
Instantly, Alana hit Sarafina flat on the bridge of her nose,  
"Shut up!" she spat, "And we'll talk when we've both cooled off."  
"What, so you think that I should have mated Taka – I mean Scar, to enhance my future perspectives? Why, my lion is-"  
"Do go on, Sarafina, I was just dying to hear what you were about to say…" Scar said as he turned out to be standing within yards of the mother and daughter. Alana audibly growled. Few lions in the pride thought much of Scar ever since the incident that led to the departure of Uru. Scar hardly cared.  
"Well, in that case Sarafina had better keep quiet," she said.  
"Hmph," he replied, and crept up to the disgusted Sarafina, bringing his muzzle so close to hers that she felt his breath tickle her whiskers, "Well, whatever you were about to say, Fina, I wouldn't be so loud about it. You never know who will be nearby."  
She clacked her teeth, provoking a sardonic laugh and a lingering smirk. At this she played her strongest defense,  
"I'd be careful, Scar. You think that I don't know where you disappear off to? I wonder what Mufasa would say…what my mother would say…if only they knew."  
"Didn't you mention that you were pregnant, Sarafina? Should they know anything at all which was not meant for their ears, then, well, I can only hope that there will be no complication with the gestation period. A fluke hunt, an early birth…you never know when that little life may be, how shall I phrase it, _cut_ short?"  
"What was that all about?" asked Alana indignantly, prying away at her daughter. Both had already forgotten about the fight that they had moments ago. Sarafina froze, trembling inside. So he was clever, he had this all figured out! Why did she even try to scare him? Now she could tell no one about Scar's liaison with the hyenas, for fear for her cub's life. The realization obtained a stone like, dead cast form. Scar was dangerous. Even deadly.

She first found out about the Prince's trips to the Elephant Graveyard some time ago. Mufasa was worried about the whereabouts of Scar, and one day she chose to follow him. The wind was in her favour, but the direction was not, as he, and she, came closer to the destination, Sarafina noted a definite change in the atmosphere. Her fur bristled. This was the place where her Aunt Akase died. She crouched low in the grass as Scar descended into the craggy dip. She noticed that he came up to some elephant ribs.  
"Shenzi!" he called.  
"Sca-a-ar," came the reply of a husky voiced female hyena, "'Bout time."  
"I haven't brought you anything," he said crossly, and her face fell in disappointment.  
"All lions are the same!" she yelled angrily, "Hey Banzai! We ain't got no supper!"  
"Que sorpresa," barked a large male, walking out of an eye socket of an elephant scull, "What's your excuse now, one eye?"  
"Banzai," said Shenzi quietly, coming up to him and gifting him with a warning headbutt, "We don't want to cut our arrangement, do we? We can talk polite, like. So Scar," she smiled teeth and fangs, "When can we expect our next meal?"  
"You didn't like it under Ahadi, and now he is gone. I'll see what I can do with my brother. Somehow I doubt he'll be too lenient, what with the killing of his mother and all."  
"What about the killing of our peoples? Since we were forbidden setting paw on the Pridelands we are a mere third of what we were! We get scraps! We risk our lives each time we steal food!"  
"Big loss," noted Scar, "Your lives are too important to the world."  
"That's right," put in Banzai, oblivious to the sarcasm, "And if you really want your share of the fun, well, then, I suggest you convince this brother of yours to lift the ban!"  
"Is he really a brute like you say he is?" Shenzi played up the flattery, "It should be no match for your intelligence to convince him that hyenas are a vital part of the ecology."  
"And the ergonomics!" added Banzai.  
"It's economics, you fool!" she snapped.  
Sarafina took this chance to creep away. She didn't like what she heard. Though if Scar was all talk and no deliverance, she didn't suppose that the Pridelands would be in any danger. Besides, Mufasa would never allow these scavengers to run in the Pridelands.

"What's going on?" pressed Alana.  
"Nothing at all," lied Sarafina, "We were messing about."  
She kept a low profile from then on, afraid that something may happen to her daughter (she was now sure that it was a daughter). She hated the way in which Scar looked at her, because he knew what she was feeling, and she hated being near Mufasa because she couldn't tell him what was going on with the hyenas. Scar had tried, on several occasions to talk to Mufasa about the hyena ban, though Sarafina caught the snippet of only one.

"Times change, brother. Laws change."  
"My father was against it, Scar. If it were otherwise, I would, I'd lift the immediate ban, lessen the sentence. But he would be so disappointed in me."  
"You are not Ahadi, Mufasa, You are the King now."  
"Because you made them leave! Scar, I can't believe that you fail to see what you are asking me to do! To let the hyenas who killed my mother run free! It would kill my father to know. And I think it may even kill me."

Sarabi didn't notice the change in her friend's behaviour too much, she was absorbed into her and into the cub that was growing inside. She was still (as was Sarafina) apt at hunting, but oh, the concentration that went into every movement, the calculation, the precaution. Sarabi made sure that there were no unavoidable mistakes which could cost her her cub's or her own. Not that she was the only one to have such concerns. Sarafina's aim improved dramatically, but her consciousness made her tense even when she was not leaping at antelope. Her mother (who came to terms with the fact that her daughter found herself a rogue) was becoming worried, but Sarafina would not talk about it, so she put it down to pregnancy moods.

Eve's cub was born first. He was a lovely male, a paler shade of Eve, but definitely with the inherent Pridelander facial structure. He had a dark tail tuft and rims round his ears, and Eve looked at her child and cried. Her firstborn was dead and gone, but now she was blessed with a new small life, a creature whom she will nurture and watch grow, until his mane covers his head and chest, until he is bigger than his mother. She will care for him, feed him and milk him, and teach him the ways of the world. Eve was contented. Eve was, for the first time in years, absolutely happy.

Sarafina produced a girl cub, as she anticipated. Any rifts between her and her mother were forgotten, Alana remained by her daughter until the end, and in gratitude, Sarafina named her daughter Nala, so that she would never forget the support that her mother offered her.

Sarabi was at that point, some days away from giving birth. Mufasa paced, unable to find any peace, his thoughts were all with his wife and his cub.

"I have to ask you something, dear," she told him one day,  
"Something the matter?" he asked, and she saw how tired he looked.  
"Not at all, no, I think that I should tell you. It's a son. We're going to have a son."  
"How do you know?" he asked, perplexed.  
"A mother knows these things. My mother knew. The lionesses here knew. I know too. A name keeps entering my thoughts, my mother did not name me until I was born, but this name fits so perfectly, I was going to ask if you liked it."  
"Go on," he said, relieved that nothing was wrong.  
"What do you think of Simba?"  
Mufasa sat, contemplating the name of the future King. Come here Simba. Prince Simba. Don't play with snakes Simba. You must learn to be a good King, Simba. King Simba. This is my son, Simba.  
"Our son Simba," he said, sounding a savannah away.  
"Do you like it?" she asked.  
He kissed her then, "I love you, my wise lioness. I could not have thought of better."

It was on the morning after Simba's birth that Rafiki thrust the Prince of the Pridelands to the heavens, and the ground rippled with the animals' bows. They hailed him and they rejoiced for their future ruler, and for the joy of the King and Queen. Sarabi took in the celebratory atmosphere and her fur glinted in the sunlight. The evening before was a difficult one, but oh, how she rested during the night, how she cradled her dear son close to her. Never would she forget Mufasa's face as he was let into the cave, nor her cub's cries and wails. She felt so blissful now, she could have smiled for eternity. But at an attention seeking contact she blinked a few times and saw her husband. He touched her paw again,

"Sarabi," he grumbled quietly, "Scar didn't come to the ceremony."  
Partially relieved, the lioness felt a little ashamed. After all, he was her husband's brother, half-brother, but brother nonetheless. She twisted her mouth in an indecisive way and let out the stale air from the bottom of her lungs in a compact breath. She didn't need to say a word.  
"I'll talk to him afterwards," he resolved, and turned his attention to the animals below.

The Queen sat with her husband and felt his support, love and understanding even though he smiled at the world at the foot of the Rock. She knew then that their son would bring them even closer together, that she would have a life freer than that of her mother. Simba would play with Nala, and with Eve's son, and there would be more children, and the Pridelands pride would grow from strength to strength, from generation to generation. Sarabi's roots were firmly planted, and this cub would carry in him the spirit of her and of Mufasa.

Her head was kept still, but her eyes travelled to the sky,  
"I love you, Dad," she thought, sending these words up to wherever he was, knowing firmly that he was, in a way, with her always.

Simba was returned to his mother, and the lions came to talk to the animals. A little afterwards, Mufasa slinked away to his brother's den, Zazu getting wind of the situation, and flying ahead in advance.  
Sarabi licked Simba on the nose,  
"Your father has just gone to sort out your uncle," she made a small grimace, "I am sure that you will get to know him well soon…"


	16. Brave

Sarabi  
Chapter 16: Brave

Simba grew strong and stubborn, his mother felt that he was becoming a little spoilt, but it was so hard not to dote on this golden part of her and so she really didn't mind. Sarafina's daughter Nala became Simba's best friend; though just a little older the two were in crèche together. Abel, Eve's son, was more mature, and would look out for the youngest two Pridelanders. The sun would shine from rise to fall, and all day there would be new things to explore, exciting things to do, the cubs were seldom bored. They would get their first morsel of meat, a first encounter with elephants, a glimpse of gazelles. They listened hungrily to their parents who looked after them and who taught them the way of the Lion. Stories of lionlore would be recounted in the dry cave each night, and Simba would have the most colourflul dreams of the legends that passed before him, as silently as huntresses, as great as Kings.

But one day, Simba strayed away. Sarabi had let him and Nala go to the waterhole, under the watchful eye of Zazu, with whom the Queen kept good relations. But the shadows grew longer, and neither the cubs nor Zazu were heard from.

"Fina," said Sarabi, becoming aware of an anxious tone in her low voice, "Where can they be?"  
"They're playing! Sarabi, didn't you ever stay out late as a cub? Not even once? Nala will get a talking to when they get back, I can guarantee you that, but until then I can relax. Sleep, dream and no filthy cubs to lick clean. In fact, if she manages to come back in a presentable state, then tomorrow we'll go see her father," Sarafina smiled slyly, "I haven't seen him in a long time…"

The Queen searched back to a time when she would come back to her family after seeing Dusk in the vast Acacia Gardens, and her parents would just look at her sadly, hurt by her absence. But she was older than Simba then. She wafted away a sigh with a mental flick of her tail and a physical flick of her ear. Now Dusk stayed out late every night with another lioness, and her father was gone forever.

"You're probably right," she replied, just wishing that she herself would believe in those empty sounding words.  
Yet the shadows stretched on, and the sky grew darker. Sarafina kept a false twinkle to her eye, but her heart wrung with worry.  
"At least Zazu is with them," she said helpfully, despite wondering what protection a small bird could offer.  
The Queen was about to nod, but their constrained conversation was interrupted by the aforementioned hornbill. He limped over to the lionesses as hurriedly as he could,  
"Where is the King?" he shouted.  
The lionesses shared a look which was full of the fear that all mothers experience and that all mothers dread. Sarabi leapt from her slated stone slab and quickly filled up her lungs,  
"Mufasa!" she roared.

It did not take Zazu too long to convey to the King what exactly was going on.  
"A terrible thing, Mufasa! Simba and Nala are at the Elephant Graveyard, the hyenas are after them!"  
Mufasa gave Sarabi a lick on the cheek before sprinting after his majordomo, and his muscles tensed the closer he got to the Elephant Graveyard. At Pride Rock, Sarafina now froze, her large eyes wide and shocked,  
"Sarabi," she stuttered, "What if - ?"  
"Mufasa is there now," said the Queen, unsure of what she herself meant by this statement.

And so Mufasa rescued the cubs, and remained behind, after Nala had gone, to talk to Simba. The Prince learned much about responsibility that night, and about death. More lionlore of the past, a myth Mufasa was fond of, that the Great Kings would take their place on the shining stars, that they would guide the wayward and the lost. That his mother was among them too, for Queens, of course, join their husbands, and that she still looked after him, as all mothers look after their children, forever. Simba sat on his father's shoulder, drinking in the rumbling words like water on a sweltering day, gazing at the glittering vastness above him that only now did he contemplate as something so large that it made him feel very small.

The Pride did not worry for long, for Zazu returned with Nala, and explained that Mufasa and the Prince would be on their way soon.  
"Mom!" exclaimed the cub as Sarafina at once came to her daughter's side.  
"I thought you knew better than to go there!" she said sternly, "I can't believe that you would do something so stupid!"  
"I didn't mean to, really," Nala meowed, "I didn't know why I wasn't meant to go there anyway. But it was so scary! Mufasa came before things could get any worse…"  
And then she started to cry, this cub who stayed so brave during the ordeal at the Graveyard, and who kept a solemn face all the way home, safe by her mother her vulnerability and peril hit her hard. Sarafina shooed the nosy lions out of the way, and left to talk to Nala where neither would be interrupted by any 'My oh my, so what happened?' questions.

Sarabi counted the stars once or twice before she saw two dark silhouettes in the night grasses ahead.  
"Will I be among the stars too, Dad?"  
"Not for a long, long time," replied Mufasa.  
Sarabi's heart lifted at the sound of the familiar voices and she smiled. The reunion was a happy one. Though she was overwhelmed at the sight of her son, she made sure to adopt the authoritative approach. After an affectionate nuzzle, she gave him a light thwack on the rump.  
"So the waterhole was this really cool place, huh?" she asked innocently, "If you wish to be treated like a grown up lion, you first have to grow up. Our relationship is built on trust, cub. I can't have you wandering all over the place, and your father, I am sure, has better things to do than to pick you out of trouble."  
Mufasa observed this with a bemused expression: his part in the education of his child with this specific event was over.  
"Yes mom," said Simba meekly, "I'm sorry."  
"Well, you'd better be. And you're grounded."  
Simba was about to protest, but thought better of it, and expressed his disagreement with a small grimace.  
"For how long?" he asked, dreading any answer.  
"A week," Sarabi answered, giving her son a motherly smirk.  
So after Simba was sent to bed early, his parents walked in the night, side by side.

"I'm so glad that you are both alright. We were worried, all of us. How did he find out about that place anyway?"  
"I don't know. He might have heard it from the birds, but they don't chirp about it much. Few go there," he sighed bitterly, and instantly Sarabi realised that he was thinking about Akase.  
"Perhaps you would have been better off telling him about it. At least he would have a reason to believe you, and not some bird gossip."  
"Parenting is not a straight forward task, my love," he purred.  
"Oh Mufasa," she sighed, "I look into your eyes and see the sunlight and the moonlight all merged into a sparkle that I love so much."  
"Lioness," he said, "You are my sun and moon. You are my world."  
"Lion," she breathed, falling into their game, "You are my life."  
"The future is Simba," he acknowledged, "Today, when I got to the Elephant Graveyard, the hyenas were closing in on the cubs. But Simba protected Nala, he bristled and even tried to roar. He has such a good heart, he will make a noble ruler."  
"A noble King is not necessarily wise," chuckled Sarabi, "He will have to learn to use his head and not just his heart. But Simba is such a bright boy. I can see that he will learn, and I want to be there for him."  
"As do I. To watch our son grow stronger and bigger, to counsel him, to guide him through this world."  
"Do you think that our child would be as mischievous if it were a girl?"  
Mufasa nuzzled her,  
"Right now this world is only ours."  
Sarabi had the last of her world that night, for the following day something terrible happened.

She was hunting, entirely focused on the zebra in front. She crept to an optimal charge distance, and absent-mindedly licked her lips. Just as the lioness approached her favoured spot, she heard the whinnying of the striped horses, and her breath froze in her throat.

"Poor dear!" remarked one zebra, "And so young!"  
"Who will be the next King?"  
"And to lose them both! Oh how awful that must be!"  
Sarabi recoiled sharply and the zebra noticed her and the others in the hunting party. At first Sarafina thought that it was her clumsiness, and Nala, who was brought along to watch the hunt, thought that it was because of her rustling in the grass. Eve quickly stole a look at the Queen before launching herself head on at the herd – their cover was blown anyway. However, Sarabi's reaction foiled the initial hunting order, the party was in disarray, and Eve was too far for even the smallest chance of catching the weakest foal. The zebra, of course, darted to pastures new, and she soon stopped her futile chase. She returned to the others to find the lionesses approaching the Queen.

"Sarabi?" asked Sarafina, and the Queen slowly drew her head to the side to look at her friend.  
"What they said…I don't understand…Where is Mufasa?"  
"I beg your pardon?" asked Eve, who failed to see what zebra gossip could have possibly cost the pride dinner. But the shock on Sarabi's face was genuine, and the Queen was an expert huntress. She would not have moved back like that without an undue reason. Eve paid her friend a questioning glance.  
"Where is Mufasa?!" asked Sarabi again, getting impatient and letting a flash of worry shine through. Her tail flinched as though it was out of her control.  
"He was out with Zazu, patrolling the East border," said Sarafina helpfully, but Sarabi wouldn't calm down.  
"Where's Simba?"  
"He was with Scar this morning," said Sarafina's paws, and the Queen looked down to find Nala, who was taking in the scene with large green eyes, "But I haven't seen him since, I-"

Her eyes trailed left and she fell silent, the hunting party turned to see the cause of this: Zazu was flying shakily toward them. Not knowing why, Sarabi found herself breaking away from the rest of the lionesses, and practically sprinting to the hornbill. Her paws felt like lead, she could hear her heartbeat resonating in her dark rimmed ears, and the world seemed to grind to a halt, as she would feel right before she snapped into chase whilst hunting. But she was shivering as she ran now, an awful shadow filled her whole, and she could have sworn the sky got darker.

"Zazu!" she shouted hoarsely, "Zazu, where are they?"  
He was silent until he descended onto the ground in front of her. He was so rigid, she reflected, and looked genuinely dazed.  
"Zazu!" she whispered impatiently in low, chilling tones.  
He put a wing on her paw,  
"My dear, you are going to have to be very brave…"


	17. Consequences

Sarabi  
Chapter 17 - Consequences

The day was flickered away in a sort of madness, a hurricane of events and she was its eye. Her life changed beyond recognition, and she wondered whether she even had a life at all.

Asleep, resting her weary head on her paws, Sarabi lay unmoving. She was tired, empty, and there was nothing that could be done, nothing at all. There was an elephant-heavy atmosphere at Pride Rock that day and during the days to come, onerous and grey, and the lioness sought refuge in a world where there were dreams and quietness.

A nudge at her neck, and she half opened her eyes with a slight groan.  
"Lioness," he said, and kissed her cheek.  
Both eyes alight with fire, love and hope, she looked at Mufasa and could not help but smile,  
"Lion," she replied and leaned into his kiss, drawing her face across his, and coming to rest in the deep red mane that was so familiar to her.  
But why was there unease around them, why was she suddenly worried? She frowned and pulled back – there was a reason for this, but she couldn't quite remember what it was.  
"Mufasa?" she asked, startled, and he told her not to worry. But then, it came to her lips, an instinct,  
"Where's Simba?"  
He now froze: his image, his scent, his voice, it was all still, as water on a summer evening when there is no wind in the Savannah, when not even a fly disturbs the sunset, and then he was gone. Her eyes opened, this time for real, and she found herself in the corner of the Pride's cave, with nothing but the dread to comfort her. She crept out to be under the stars, away from the overbearing and suffocating cave walls. In the open, she found her answer as she faced the gorge.  
"They're dead," she told herself, and herself only.  
She did not cry. She did not lose in the power battle that Scar had brought on. All of the day just gone, from the moment that Zazu told her about her family seemed to be a dream, but the true dream was the one where Mufasa and Simba were alive. Where he could still tread up to her, and call her lioness. Where Simba would, though too cool to admit it in words, run up to her because she was his mother and he loved her. That thought was lost in the valley of dreams, to pester her at night. Sniffing disapprovingly at it, the lioness moved it away, far into her mind, and unblinking watched the lands that were hers, just a day ago. Hers and Mufasa's. They would have been Simba's too, had he lived to see the hairs of his mane grow into a regal, vibrant aura round his head.  
"They're dead," she said again, just to make sure she knew.

Scar now splurged where she and Mufasa lay the day before, so many days before. And the last time that she lay next to Mufasa was when he had already gone: on the floor of the steep sided canyon, underneath a withered tree, there he lay, once the mighty King of the Pridelands, yet then powerless and cold. She did not cry, though her heart was as broken as the body of her mate, but she set down beside him, just to be with him one last time, a chance that she would never have with Simba, for by the time that she arrived, the small cub's remains had gone.

Sarafina cried, and Nala wept for the loss of a friend, and the others bowed their heads. They may have wept for their King and Prince, or perhaps they wept for Sarabi, or even bowed to pay their respects. But Scar took the evening to announce himself as the next King. He brought the hyenas to the lands, and Sarabi gaped, disgusted and hurt, at these scavengers from the graveyard who were to receive the same rights as lions, those immoral dogs who killed Akase, who bark and cackle, and who steal lion's hunt kills. They were to share the Pridelands with the lionesses. They were to benefit from her hunting, from their efforts, to stuff their snouts with meat, and Scar would put no stop to it. It was in fact his idea. After all, he said, if we are all connected in the Great Circle of Life, then the hyenas, our brothers and sisters, deserve to be repaid for the grief that the former Kings' rulings brought on them.

"I thought I would find you here," came a statement that pierced the silence, and Eve stepped forward to be beside the former Queen.  
Sarabi looked on into the gorge that stole her happiness.  
"It's insane, isn't it?" Eve said, rather than asked, a voice like trees and winds and dusks that was comforting and supporting, "One minute you think you know it all, and then it is torn away from you, ripped away with its roots. You're hurting, my dear. And nothing makes much sense right now."  
Sarabi decided to reply "Yes". Then as a cloud passed over the moon, she snapped her attention to Eve and turned her head to lock her auburn eyes with the dark ones of her friend's.  
"I don't know what to do. My family is gone, Scar is King, the Pride is full of hyenas."  
"So much to worry about, isn't there?" mused Eve again, "But though you leave your loved ones you never forget them. It was before you were born, Princess, and when your mother was still a girl, that I had a son. But he was unfortunate, as were most that awful season, when we didn't have much water for ourselves, let alone the prey. I watched him die before my eyes, and even though I knew that it would happen, it was a shock to me when it did. I miss him, you know. He would have been a fine lion about now. And though he has been gone awhile, I still remember what he smelled like, or how he'd smile when he'd wake up. All those seasons ago, and he is still with me. Keep them with you, dear. They have gone, but they are with you forever."  
"They're dead," Sarabi said flatly, setting her jaw, and gazing into the distance again.  
Eve sighed.  
"Aurora would like to see you, Sarabi. I think that it might do you some good to get away from here."  
Fixated on the horizon, the Princess of the Star Pride agreed that this would be a good idea.

The sun was hiding the following day, and the Pride was under a grey mass that tried to make the surroundings cheery and colour rich, but it was obvious that the water was not as blue and that the grass was not as green as it could be.  
"Good morning, your Majesty," said Zazu, landing in front of Sarabi, and it was evident that he saw no reason for this morning to be any good at all.  
"Good morning, Zazu," she smiled vacantly.  
"The morning report, ma'am," he initiated, and continued at the nod of her head, "The gnu are still uncertain about the stampede. They agree that the front part of the herd ran because the back part of the herd started to run. But why there was even any running, and in the direction of the gorge, of all places, that they do not know. Now, a few birds have told me that they saw some hyenas around Pride Rock at about the same time, but whether this was coincidental or not…  
"Don't speculate, Zazu," commented Sarabi, "Carry on."  
"Now, the cheetahs and leopards are unsure about the new hunting rights. The New Hunt Law restricts them to hunting only five times a week, now that the hyenas are here, but they argue that hunting is opportunistic, and that it is unfair that lions may hunt unlimitedly and that they may not. They think that hunting should be deregulated."  
"What does the Hunt Law say about lions?" she asked, unnerved.  
"Lions must bring back a meal each day without fail."  
"A kill a day? Or would His Majesty like breakfast, lunch and supper?"  
"Well, I was going to settle on one daily carcass, but your idea isn't half bad, Sarabi," grinned Scar.  
Her ears twisted backwards – how long had he been standing there? How dare he listen in?  
"Zazu," Scar began, inching in towards the frightened hornbill, "Let's just make sure that from now on I am the first to hear the morning report? In fact, make me the only one to hear the morning report, or reports of any kind at all!"  
"Your Majesty," said Zazu, apparently struggling to resolve an inner conflict between duty and morality.  
"Scar," growled Sarabi angrily, "I have a right to hear the report."  
"No, not at all, Sarabi," he smiled, "This is where you are mistaken. You had the right to hear the report when you were Queen. You are Queen no longer, so I'd better make sure that Zazu drops the 'Majesty', right, Zazu?"  
"S-sire," he gulped.  
"This does not excuse censorship of the report, Scar!" she exclaimed, outraged, "We need to know what is happening in our lands."  
"_I_ need to know what is happening in _my_ lands, Sarabi," he parried, "And with Zazu's experience, talent and cleverness, I will. And he will listen to me, if he knows what's good for him." The black-maned lion narrowed his eyes at the pale majordomo, "You wouldn't want to put your head in the lion's mouth again, would you now?"  
Zazu shook his head, not in the lion's mouth, for no.

The King strode off, quite pleased with his appearance, but turned around at Sarabi's annoyed grunt,  
"Well, Sarabi, you have to think about what we'll all eat tonight!"  
She was the leader of the hunting party. Scar was no fool when it came to setting up the pieces to benefit him most. He could not get rid of Sarabi, he knew that much, for she was a huntress like no other. He would eventually expel Abel when the cub would be old enough. Nala…Nala was another story, for Sarafina had long suspected that he, Scar, was up to something, and this cub was a way of controlling the mother. And as Scar pondered over the Pride Lions that now belonged to him, a strange thought crossed his mind.  
I killed my brother and his son yesterday.  
But they deserved to die.

Sarafina was with Nala when Sarabi found them. The lioness was looking for Dawn to discuss whom to take hunting, and what for, but found herself by a cluster of trees under which lay her best friend with her cub.  
"Nala's sleeping," indicated Sarafina in a weary voice, "How are you?"  
"We're ordered to hunt, Fina," Sarabi said impassively, "I'm looking for Dawn, have you seen her?"  
"She was up by the rocks a while ago…Nala's finally fallen asleep, it's been a bad day for her. She misses Simba, and Mufasa. We all do."  
"They're dead."  
"Sarabi, I…"

But the cat kept her mouth a thin tight line, and only her eyes told Sarafina that she did not want to hear of Mufasa or Simba then. Let them be, they pleaded, and the pale lioness retreated. Nala flopped onto her other side through dreams, and Sarabi forced a smile.  
"You stay with Nala today. I'll round up the others. Feel like gnu?"  
She headed towards the rocks to focus her thoughts on dinner rather than on the fact that her friend's daughter was alive, and her son had gone forever.

The hunting party was reserved and the usual adrenaline-filled pre-hunt chatter was absent from the lionesses as they moved to the herd of herbivores. They fell under Sarabi's lead as she, without words, quietened her pace and lowered her body to hide amidst the sandy grass stalks. They were not commanded to disperse in order to form a semicircle around the unsuspecting antelope and to edge in, in pawstep with the former Queen, but they felt that it was necessary without the directions being given, and Sarabi did not complain. She liked her pick of lionesses, and hunted with them often. And then, the gnu were close, so close that they may have been humouring her and just pretending not to notice the hunters preparing to sprint. She knew which animal her party had picked, it was a young, but biggish male with a limp, she sensed their eyes lock onto him, all poised, waiting for her signal. Sarabi snapped forward and they followed, sending the gnu into disarray.

A swoosh of her tail indicated that Dawn should kill. Dawn pondered over Sarabi's decision in the back of her mind as she brought down the antelope, because Sarabi was the one in the best position for the attack, but her doubts were drowned out by the blood seeping from the gnu's neck, and she bit down on the windpipe to complete the job.

Sarabi rested, sitting a few leaps away from the group. Her eyes watched Dawn and the others, and then traced the dead gnu. It was a good choice to let Dawn take him, so that she would learn to take over the lead should something happen. And Dawn did well, reading the tail sign, and acting quickly. Of course, this was nothing to do with the fact that the gnu herd rushed madly down the gorge, no, nothing at all. Sarabi nodded to herself to confirm this. Not at all.

Sarafina stayed with her daughter whilst the rest hunted, and Nala woke with a confused look on her face. She thoughtfully pronounced,  
"It's okay if I still see them in my dreams, right, mom? Just cause they're not here doesn't mean that I can't think about them, right?"  
"Oh, hon…" purred her mother, "Of course it's fine. It's good. You shouldn't forget them at all. How about we go see your father tomorrow? I think that it would do you some good to get out of here. You can play with the cheetahs."  
"I wish…" sighed Nala, "I wish I could play with Simba."  
"I know you do, Nal."  
"Will Aunt Sarabi be okay if we go?"  
"It'll only be a little while. I think she'll be fine. I am more worried about you."  
"Let's go then, mom. I haven't seen dad in ages."  
And she got up to run back to the cave, "It'll probably be time for dinner!"

"Now where have you run from, young lady?" asked Scar in a mocking tone. He towered above her as she skidded to a halt. Sarafina was walking behind, but as Nala ran the whole way, she was considerably ahead of her mother.  
"Just the trees. Mom and I have been resting there. We're going to see Dad tomorrow."  
"Oh are you?"  
"Yeah. I can play with the cheetahs…" and she went quiet, missing Simba again.  
"Your mother's not far behind, is she?"  
Nala looked back over her shoulder, Sarafina was a small figure in the distance. Scar saw her too. And from the other side, the lionesses were returning with the carcass. It was beginning to get dusky.  
"We'll talk about it after dinner," he finished.

Sarafina and the others glared at Scar angrily, but none dared to move: his hyenas were scattered about the place. He had told Sarafina that Nala could go, just this once, but that Sarafina could not go with her. That the lionesses were to stay at Pride Rock, to hunt there and to live there. That they were not to leave the territory for any reason. The borders, he stressed, were clearly marked.  
"Nobody comes in, nobody leaves. Sustainability, security, sense. I hope you see it."  
Scar couldn't have Sarafina visit the rogue…what if she told him of what she suspected? Just one lion would be no match for the hyenas, but what if word got out? Nala would say nothing, but if she did – if Sarafina told her, then everything would be taken care of, the cub would be alone, after all.

Eve took Sarabi aside later, and whispered that it could be arranged that Sarabi goes during the night, to come back when she thought it would fit her. The rest would cover for her. And Sarabi did feel that she wanted to go back to the Star Pride, to see her brother and mother, to ask them what could be done…but from the way that Scar treated the others, she felt her duty as Queen. Though she was no longer the ruler, she was still very much the leader, and one that could not break down or retreat under the presently difficult situation at that. She had to stay, to look after her Pride, to protect them and to provide some resistance at least. Even as she told Eve, she realised that she would probably never see home again, the restrictions would probably tighten, and control would be more enforced. But this was what she had to do, and what she wanted to do.

"I'm staying right here Eve," was her final answer.


	18. Rules and Regulations

Disclaimer: Mostly not mine.

**Sarabi**  
Chapter 18 - Rules and Regulations

Moons passed and suns stretched out over the wild sky, so fierce and powerful that the clouds were afraid. The stars shone as they had done for many years when night would fall, and the crickets echoed in the surroundings, though hardly ever seen. Sarabi frowned: the lionesses were growing uneasy, the hyena patrol kept the borders clean of intruders and word got back to Scar very quickly.

Once, Zazu flew over the border. There was a conflict between some river hippopotamus and a leopard who wandered out of the jungle. A few lionesses from the Riverside Pride were nearby, and one of them knew the bird by sight. They had heard of the deaths of the King and the Prince in the dreadful accident in the gorge, and stopped to talk to Zazu. Expressing their condolences for Sarabi and the pride, they wished the hornbill courage and luck for the times ahead. Once the leopard and hippo were reconciled – it had been the case that the leopard unwittingly drank from the water near which the hippo's mate and calves were swimming – Zazu made his return to the Pridelands with a heavy heart. The meeting with the lionesses reminded him of the ethos that Scar created, which did not make anybody feel happy and carefree. Lionesses would always look over their shoulders, and cubs' laughter was seldom heard. His wings flapped in against the stillness of the day as he neared Pride Rock to report about the leopard. Little did he know that somebody else had beaten him to it.

"Your, ehh, Majesty," began Zazu.  
"Just the one I wanted to see," sneered the reply from within the cave, and instructed Zazu to enter. Scar slouched facing away from the bird on the slab that once, almost in another life, used to be the bed for the King and Queen. It was so for Ahadi and Akase, Ahadi and Uru, then Mufasa and Sarabi, and now – Zazu suppressed a cringe – this pathetic excuse for a king lounges about on it all day as though he can just let the Pridelands take care of themselves!

"The morning report, Sire," said Zazu calmly despite himself.  
"Why Zazu, I think you are too late."

Carefully, Zazu looked behind him where the light entered the cave's mouth. The sky was still pink and fresh; it was most definitely morning, and an early one at that. Abruptly, Scar leapt from the stone, and, frightening the bird to half death, snarled,

"You know the rules, Zazu! What did I say about venturing beyond the borders?"  
"Uhm…" Zazu coughed, twiddling his wings.  
"What did I say?"  
"That we were not to."  
"That we were not to _what_?"  
"That we were not to venture beyond the boarders."  
"That we were not to venture beyond the boarders _what_!"  
"That we were not to venture beyond the boarders…Your Majesty."  
"Good. So why did you do it? I have had the morning report. The hippopotamus are taking up too much room, and the leopards should not go outside of the jungle. Did you tell them that?"  
"No…"  
"No _what_?"  
"No, s-sire."  
"I found a more reliable source to receive the reports, Zazu," revealed Scar, and three hyenas stepped forward. There was a gulp as the majordomo recognized them as the ones from the Elephant Graveyard, when Simba and Nala were ambushed there. They smirked among themselves.  
"We'll take over from here, birdie," barked Banzai, and Ed sniggered.

Scar kept his green eyes out for Zazu. The hyenas were informed about the threat his big beak presented, of course. Zazu could barely fly out for some food when he was not being trailed, and yet he could never eat without the feeling of being watched depressing his appetite. Major Zeek was getting older, and his thoughts grew darker.  
"That good for nothing lion, he'll be the death of the pride. Not allowing Rafiki to come to Pride Rock…A hyena as an advisor, what to make of this? Your mother would have been beside herself…"  
His grumblings got ever more pessimistic as the skies turned over days and nights.

For Scar, another danger had passed by quietly. Nala had related nothing to her father. She had gone as she promised, back before dusk, before the long shadows of the Pride Rock reached the cluster of trees, and before the first stars would twinkle in the paleness of the heavens. She had a great time with her father, and he was none the wiser of the control that Scar had exerted on the pride.  
"Hyenas and lions together, Nala? I hope they're not causing you any trouble," remarked the rogue.  
"I'm getting used to it, Daddy," and she looked scared, startled by her next thought, "I think it may just be okay."  
And a frown crossed the lion's face at his daughter's words.

Nala was hitting a growth spurt. She was leggy, more energetic, and constantly hungry. Sarafina was tired at having to steal away small prey from the nosy hyena hunting patrol. The dogs would report what the lionesses had caught, so that Scar would always know. So Sarabi took on the task of teaching Nala to hunt, and also to sneak by the hyenas unnoticed, so that she would be able to catch rabbits and meercats for herself and for the other cubs. Scar brought back the order that had been abolished by Ahadi, though it was hardly respected before him, anyway. First, dines the King. This left out Nala and the other cubs, and for them, there was not much left. What Sarabi and Sarafina noticed was that as Nala crouched in the grass to select her prey was that her eye was tracing every movement, her whiskers were taking in all of the information, her muscles were poised and her judgement was improving by the hunt. Nala was making a huntress that Sarafina could only wish to be.

"She gets it from her father," said Sarafina positively as Nala pinned a rabbit in a beautiful stroke. And as it became more and more difficult to contain the expertise of the young lioness Sarafina turned to devious ways of keeping the excess hunting quiet. The hyenas controlling the patch of the Pridelands where Nala would swipe at the small animals were ever hungry. All they needed was a carcass or two, which presented no problems for Nala. Her efforts made sure that the other cubs were fed as well. But Sarabi saw that the King was getting his three meals a day and that the hyenas helped with the snacks – who can expect hyenas to stick to rules, after all? She saw that Scar made no provisional plans neither for the wet seasons nor for the dry spells. That he was consuming the antelope without letting the fawns grow. That this type of hunting could not go on forever.

And one day, Nala ran into her cheetah friends. They too were growing into adults. However they did not greet her in their usual way this time.  
"What's the matter?" Nala asked quite rightly.  
"Oh, as if you don't know," drawled the female, her nose held higher than her ears, "Mother has just finished her fifth hunt, only she hasn't caught anything."  
"And the law as it stands means we have to wait another four sunsets before we can eat properly," continued her brother in an identical tone, "Don't you find it odd, Nala," he lowered his voice, "That while you get to have three meals a day we are restricted to hunting five times a week only, and we don't catch anything because you take all the food!"  
"I do not have a say in the laws!" she hissed, hurt, "Do you think I want to regulate your hunting? Do you think I want to have a floor on the amount of meat Scar eats? And do you think I get any of it?"  
"Nala," said the girl cheetah, "You wouldn't change it even if you could. Either way it would make your Royal Pride worse off than it is now. And I guess we'll just have to leave when we can't find any prey."

And all of this Sarabi saw. Oh, she wanted to leave, to rescue the Pride, to end the madness of Scar and leave him to his hyenas. But Simba and Mufasa perished here, and she would not leave. She would have to work from Pride Rock and use Scar to try and make the policies more sustainable. She did not see that across the stretch of sand, just to the south of the Common Land there lay a jungle, and in this jungle her son lived and grew. She lost him all those moons ago.


	19. Perhaps

Disclaimer: Mainly not mine.

Sarabi

Chapter 19 – Perhaps

Tired and hungry, the hunting party dragged across the drying grass towards the darkness of Pride Rock. The sun had already hid behind the mountains to the west and the sky above was pale and cold, steadily darkening to a silent black. For now, some stars were dimly scattered amid the cloudless space. This was beginning to become a familiar scenario. And Sarabi, the leader of the huntresses, had already acted in such a play. Eve and Dawn too – the three lionesses from the Star Pride had to come to the Pride Rock when King Storm overhunted in his lands, in exchange for a rich and fertile area of the Pridelands.

Her eyes traced the contour of the rocks backlit by the dusky sky, and followed the dying landscape towards the direction of the diminishing waterhole. The animals were leaving these lands, which were once praised and renowned across this part of Africa. They were struggling to cope, and Sarabi imagined that they took to the water, to the territory of the Riverside Pride. Facing Scar's reign day unto day fell in the list of problems. Her nose felt dry and rough – the rains were late. They were late enough for everybody to start looking at the empty unpromising sky with an edge of fear and a glint of pathetic hope.

Eve knew just how difficult droughts could be. She observed the lack of prey and the lack of clouds, and waited for Scar to act. The king of the Rock had other plans.

"The rains will come," he shrugged, "Always do. And why on earth are you making it up that there are no gazelle, no antelope, no warthog, no buffalo? Where would these go, and why? I thought I made it clear – nobody enters, nobody leaves. The hyenas patrol the borders well, and they would hardly miss a moving herd of stomping animals, now would they?"

But the lionesses had a suspicion that the hyenas were not watching the borders terribly well at all. Not only that, but they did not tell all that they would see. It was precisely the case concerning a certain zebra herd and linked closely to the reason why the zebra left the lands unreported. The cost was borne by the frail, old animals who remained behind to pay the hyenas with their blood.

"By next week I will be dead for sure, be it from the drought, the lions, the hyenas or old age. And to have peace of mind that the herd will move to a better spot, well, that's reward enough for me."

Adopting this outlook the zebra fell while the others trotted into the mist of the night. Scar heard none of it, the hyena advisors excluded it from the morning report which took place after the feast in the preceding night.

But birds were still flying between the guarded Pridelands and the outside. They sang many songs, fearful of the dry season and sad for the lost King and Prince, and sometimes happy, meaningless words just to listen to smiles and light. But these cheerful tunes were quieter than they had ever been before. Sarabi lay on her side towards the back of Pride Rock, wondering a labyrinth of thoughts and memories when she heard the birds chirp excitedly.

"Lion! Lion! It is a lion!"

"A yellow lion!"

"And he is fierce!"

"But the lion befriended the prey!"

"What a stupid lion. Here the lions are dying and he's friends with a pig!"

"A lion in the jungle."

"How happy he is!"  
"How sad he is."

Sarabi returned to the world and quickly thought over the birds' information. If there is a lion in the jungle, Scar won't know about him. And if this is the case, he can help the Pride. Perhaps he can overpower the King and exile him from the lands. Or perhaps he is from another pride and he can arrange some force to be sent to the Pridelands. Whatever the outcome may be, this new lion is unknown to the King, and she wanted it to remain this way.

"Quiet!" she hushed, sending the birds aflutter.

"Ma'am, keep your calmness!" they called back, bouncing in the air.

"I don't want anyone else to know about this lion, do you understand? Scar must not know!"

"Lion, what lion?"

"What lion did you say?"

"Are you lying?"

"Or lying down?"

She gave them a look, and they seemed to have understood. She never did like dealing with common chatter-birds very much.

"What is all this racket?"

Immediately Sarabi's face grew cold, and she hesitantly turned around. Hideously smiling at her was a grey female hyena, and the lioness for some reason recalled the name Shenzi.

"I asked you a question, didn't I?"

"Hyena," responded Sarabi, "Go back to sleep. Go and dream sweet dreams and leave this racket with me. Leave the empty lands to me. Leave the dry sky to me. And leave me."

"Just keep it down," she barked, "You think we don't suffer, do you? You think we can't see that our bellies aren't half as full as they used to be?"

"That much I think you see, and not much more," smiled Sarabi bitterly.

"I saw that you were talking to the birds. And I know that there is to be none of that. So like a good hyena, I will tell Scar."

"Go to him, then," sighed the lioness, "And I can tell you that he will make it very clear to you hyenas that you must not let a single bird talk to any lion. Now there are a great many birds that fly in and out, so it would be very tiring for you to look out for all of them. The food won't increase, of course. You've kept you bellies full three times a day, every day, and this is beginning to show."

Shenzi weighed this up.

"Just keep your hunting up. We've got pups to feed."

And like a thunderclap, magnificent and sudden, the hyena caught the Sarabi's look, which wept with pain and loss and love and fear. As bottomless as a dark gorge where an animal falls forever once it has slipped and as eternal as the sun that burns the savannah, that was the expression which surfaced in the steady eyes of the lioness.

Shenzi felt a crack of remorse as her thought turned to her own children, which made her vision sway in gut-wrenching disgust in front of the noble lioness. She just about shook it off, and swallowed thickly,

"Keep up your hunting then."

She ran, unable to stay with the lioness any longer, and Sarabi spent a moment following her trail. But this lion, this unknown, he may be important. She knew that she had to find him somehow, and force him to challenge Scar. Sarabi was strong, but she was not stupid. Scar was a drawn-out lion whose strength was not a virtue, but who was snake-like lithe and ever-plotting. His hyena army more than thrice outnumbered the lionesses, and oh, how they grew in number during the days when the food was plentiful. There was little chance of a lioness coalition freeing the lands, so Sarabi decided to have to beat Scar at his own game. She was thinking of a plan by which to overthrow the king.

One dark night shortly after Sarabi had heard of the strange lion she used the blackness of the moon and bribing meercat corpses to steal through the borders of the Pridelands. She knew the whereabouts of the jungle for some leopards lived there and they came to a Common Council when she was still living in the Star Pride. Her father told her of the cracked desert floor and of the blinding sand dunes. She had never really wanted to see it. That night, her paw recoiled as she stepped her first step on the icy sand. With no sunlight to warm the golden grains the ground froze to her paw pads. Knowing she had little time before the king would see that she was missing, she ignored the cold and ran, ran like a cheetah, arching her back, falling in stride with the African spirits racing beside her. The desert was wide and stretched forever around her, until unexpectedly a strip of black appeared to her left. Soon she advanced to an edge of the jungle and crept through the lianas and the entwining green branches full of intoxicating night flowers. She shivered.

Full of noises and rustles and cries new to her, the lioness kept alert and swivelled her dark rimmed ears from front to back. The jungle sprawled in front of her like a sky – no limits, no ends and no sense of orientation. Creeping through the ropey cataracts of leaves she could hardly breathe for her previous experience as a lioness had not prepared her for such an unfamiliar surrounding. She could not smell any lion's presence in this part of the jungle, but she heard a leopard rumble threateningly too near for her to decide to stay. Vexed, she scrunched up her nose and exhaled a sharp breath. The growling of the spotted cats continued, and she turned to head back to Pride Rock, before Scar would notice she was away, before the sunlight illuminated her absence and the guilty muzzles of the hyena dogs. And just as she was leaving she heard a lion's roar. But there was no time, and the leopards would not take kindly to an intrusion. She held her tongue and sprang back across the dessert floor where the sand stung her paws, and into the dark Pridelands as the sun was preparing to rise behind her.

Scar had been looking for her, it was true. As he summoned her, spitting her name in a hiss, like she was a dirty, repulsive word to carry on a tongue, like the taste of the gall bladder of a gnu, she caught sight of Nala. The young lioness accompanied Sarabi with wide anxious eyes. And Sarabi smiled fleetingly to comfort her, while her hopes pinned on this green-eyed child. Sarabi would now surely be watched. Perhaps she could steal a word with Sarafina. Perhaps she could convince Sarafina to send Nala to the jungle. Perhaps.

Nala blinked twice as Sarabi followed Scar, unaware of the important turning of events to impact her and the Pride within the next few days.


	20. The Return

Disclaimer: Still not mine!  
Author's note: This isn't over! (But we're getting there.)

Sarabi   
Chapter 20: The Return

Scar seemed to constantly wander past and by the lionesses, glaring at them through his malicious eyes. It was as though he knew that they were up to something, but he did not show any indication of what it was that he was suspecting. Sarafina lay side by side next to Sarabi, anxious about Nala, who had left Pride Rock a few hours earlier despite Sarafina's worries. This was the way it happened:

"Fina," said Sarabi in a low voice, "Fina, I need you to hear me out. You and Nala are the only ones who can help."

Nala was young and clever. She would run to the jungle and seek out this strange lion that Sarabi heard the birds talk about. If she were to fall short of luck, she would seek out some other help. She would find her father, or anyone who would be able to assist the pride in regaining control of the Pridelands. Nala was a low-key figure in the pride, and as such would not be recognised. And of course, Sarafina and Sarabi were watched closely by Scar and his hyenas. Nala was regarded as a young lioness who knew little of the political intricacies of Scar's regime, unlike the older cats who saw what was happening around them. This view was not at all representative of Sarafina's daughter.

"Why do you laugh so?" asked a particularly distraught Sarafina of Nala once. Zazu had recounted a sad event which passed while the lionesses were out hunting. The cheetahs broke the hunting regulations, and were at once reported to Scar by the hyena patrol. Without so much as twitching a whisker, Scar executed the penalty.  
"Exile the family. Kill the hunter."  
The mother and daughter cheetahs screamed and pleaded as the son was led away forever. With tears of futility and dignity shimmering in the fur around his eyes he said to Scar, as a final statement,  
"The prey was gone. Mother was so hungry. I had to do it, don't you see? We'd been out hunting for hours, the previous five days. We caught vermin once. I had to go again, to try to –"  
"Enough," Scar cut him off, and stared coldly into the eyes of the bold young cheetah, "You knew the sentence. Exile for the family and death for him who breaks the law." The next words were directed to the hyenas, "Take him away."  
"No," whimpered the mother, and her front legs collapsed underneath her.

"…No remorse, no pity…" cracked Zazu, "Nobody could do anything. The hyenas are on his side, and they have grown strong and multiplied like never before. King Ahadi, rest his soul, he would have never allowed this! Never!"  
And Sarafina was so dreadfully upset that she did not tell Nala of what had happened to the cheetahs. The unhappy wind was in the crevices of the Pride Rock, though, and it howled, bawled and wailed for the injustice. Nala felt it pass through her fur and touch her skin. So when Sarafina asked her daughter why she still had the heart to smile, Nala looked at her mother with the eyes of a child who was infinitely wise and seen things that no child should have.  
"Because I will die if I don't," she said darkly, "Because that is all I can do not to surrender to this reality which stares me in the face from the hour I wake until the hour I sleep, and chases me in my nightmares, as though it is a lion and I am a gazelle. That is why, mom. I look for the little things to make me smile."  
Sarafina nuzzled her daughter, and found comfort in those words. Nala was being so brave, when she should have been having the time of her life. The pale lioness thought back to a time when Ahadi was King, when Scar was Taka, and when Mufasa would give her a telling off for running to Rafiki's tree without telling her parents. Memories like these did help her smile, just the smallest bit.

"Sarabi," replied Sarafina, every inch shaking for the fear of the safety of her child, "I just don't know. She is so…"  
"So what?" asked Nala, irritated, "I'll do it! I want to do it. I try to stay separate from this grim air which plagues Pride Rock, but it will suffocate me. Let me leave to get help, mom. Please."  
"To lose you, Nala –" and Sarafina froze, because Sarabi cast her eyes downward for a moment. But then she looked at her friend with assurance,  
"Nala won't be lost, Fina. If there is anyone who can do it, it's her."  
"That's right, Aunt Sarabi," affirmed the little lioness, "I can look after myself. And I have to do it for the pride. Nobody else can go, but me."  
Sarafina anxiously gave her consent, and plans were drawn up. Those three were the only ones to know, for fear of the hyenas overhearing. It was during a hunting outing when Nala broke away – a perfect time for her to escape unnoticed when everyone else was absorbed in following the few animals remaining in the Pridelands. It was only when she reached the borders that a rugged voice called her. She stopped and cautiously looked back.  
"Sarafina's daughter, ain't ya?"  
Nala gulped.  
"No going beyond the borders, you know that."  
Quickly, she thought of an explanation that would not fall on deaf hyena ears,  
"There was a herd a few shades away from here. I heard the birds say it. The hunt was unsuccessful in our territory. And," she added, "I'm a good huntress. Let me through, and I'll make sure to bring something for you as well as the pride."  
The hyena licked his dry lips with a dry tongue. He was getting hungry, it was true. Resolved, he turned his back to the lioness as though he had never seen her run past him. Nala praised the spirits, and continued her journey. Sarabi had explained the way, across the sand dunes and into the jungle. She also warned Nala that there may be leopards and snakes roaming the trees and the leafy floors. Still, the escaped lioness continued, determined to bring back help to the pride. And that was several hours ago.

Scar flexed his claws, Sarabi noticed, and read this as a warning to be weary. She deliberated momentarily, and dared address him to throw him off.  
"What are you afraid of?" she demanded.  
"No, Sarabi," he replied with a smirk, "What are _you_ afraid of?"  
Coldly and clearly, the innate Queen dismissed his tactics,  
"I am not afraid of anything anymore."  
Grunting, Scar turned away, and called for Zazu. The bird was not seen to come out of the cavern again.

"He knows something's up!" hissed Sarafina as she bent down to drink the muddy water. Sarabi's paws pressed into the cracked earth which used to be covered in water some seasons ago,  
"He doesn't know what. And in that lies our advantage, Fina. He doesn't know what has gone amiss, his control is wriggling away from him like a green grass snake, his hyenas are limited in aiding his authority and he feels the lionesses' uprising. The grey days may have bleached our fur, but inside, Fina, we're stronger! Even if," and Sarabi cast her eyes sideways, "her _hunt_ is _unsuccessful_, we'll do something. We'll get out of this."  
"Hm," said the drinking lioness, and frowned at her sepia reflection. Her neat eyebrows lifted and dropped back.  
"We're old, Sarabi. We're few. We're stuck."  
"No!" short, regal and low, to avoid attracting the unwanted attention of others and further degrading falling hopes, Sarabi closed the conversation. Sarafina wanted to feel the same way. However, with Zazu kept in Scar's den and Nala still away, it was far more difficult than it seemed.

Sarabi padded back and forth underneath the ink-black sky. She could not sleep, not when all was spinning so quickly in front of her, or rather, when the web had been spun, and the threads became entangled, it was her job as the spider to detangle it back to a single straight length again. Nala was still away. Scar glared from behind green-slit eyes. Zazu was kept prisoner. Sarafina was turning an ever-more pessimistic shade of grey, and none of the other lionesses about Pride Rock had any idea of the web which consumed them.  
"Ugh," she said, exhaling a heavy breath sharply.  
"My dear, dear girl, what are you doing up at this hour?"  
She did not move, but she was not afraid.  
"Rafiki!" she warmly tilted her head towards the mandrill cloaked in the night, "How good to see you."  
He listened to her quiet story of the way in which the Pride coped under Scar and to the reason behind Nala's absence.  
"I thought as much," he said when she finished.  
Sarabi genuinely grinned,  
"You old monkey! The voices of the spirits have already told you!"  
"Don't jest and make a monkey out of me, Sarabi," Rafiki chided, "Your father is very pleased and proud of you."  
"My father?"  
"The Kings speak of a change that is to come, which shall be grand and glorious and good. It shall punish the wicked and restore righteousness. The Circle of Life must be in balance, don't you see, girl? And all that you, or I, or they," he indicated the Pridelands, "can do is to move the path along the circle. Truth will surface soon. If you were more observant, you would pick it up from the winds."  
"You are learned and wise, oh Shaman," smiled the Queen gently and with a hint of well-meaning mockery.  
"You are brave and strong, my Queen," he replied, "And I am afraid I must leave you now. I will make sure that your web works, or rather, I will contribute my menial role to the play destined by the forces outside of our control. Do not fear for Nala, or for the Pride.  
"But the rains!" she exclaimed.  
"My Queen," he calmed her, "Dawn will bring answers and look!" His index finger, rough and bent, extended to the skies, "Look, the rains – they are almost here."  
"Where?" voiced Sarabi quietly and desperately, and she squinted, but saw so much black that she thought that she had lost the sense of sight. Looking around her, she could finally see the stone on which she stood as her eyes refocused. By then, she was alone in the night. Rafiki had already gone.

The day that unravelled began with a sunless morning, and Sarabi could feel the tensions building around her. Lionesses looked at her hungry for answers, hyenas looked at her because they were hungry, and Scar did not look at her.  
Eve, for months, had been silent since her son was made to leave Pride Rock because of his potential threat to the King. This day she observed the happenings about her, and, although Sarabi did not tell Eve of what was going on, nor of the talk she had with Rafiki, Eve looked as if she knew more somehow. Dawn sniffed the air about and looked at the sky with a puzzled look in her eyes. The information that she was getting must have been confusing, because she did not say what she concluded the case to be.  
"Nothing," said Sarafina, and that was all that she needed to say.

Dragging like a buffalo carcass drags across a dry field on a sweltering noon, the day dragged and crawled, and the flies in the air were flying so slowly seemed to be suspended, only their headache inducing buzz was monotonous and present. Sarabi flicked it away with the tuft of her tail. Few words were exchanged, just looks which lasted both eternity and no time at all.  
There was a hunting outing, mechanical and formulaic, missing the usual group dynamic and the notion of collective effort. As in a stampede, the hunting group moved like it was supposed to move, but the lionesses in it were detached from one another.  
They came back to Pride Rock with nothing but sweat covered pelts.

With the corner of her half-closed eye, Sarabi noticed a skulky looking hyena join two friends of his, and together they entered the cave where Scar hid from the heat outdoors.

Shadows grew long, and Sarabi's tail flipped round her side, alternating between the left and the right as it came to rest on the floor. Sarafina washed her paws nervously and spun her ears. An announcement came from one of the hyenas – Scar would hold a council that evening. The hyena barked, and there, at the horizon, in the direction of the desert, there was a dark approaching line, which swelled in width. The Queen frowned. Dawn grew restless and looked around herself to taste the weather. But the time had come, they assembled – hyenas beneath the rock, lionesses further back. A usual aggregate of conversations averaged out to a single note of constant noise, not unlike the buzzing of the motionless flies, but the murmur died down as soon as Scar stepped out.

He did not say a word to his subjects, not did he give a reason for the meeting. Instead, he glared at one lioness in particular, and, in the manner of the foreboding clouds bringing news of the storm with deep thunderous undertones, so Scar growled,  
"Sarabi!"  
Her name echoed around the rocks, around the land, touching every stone and hanging in the air – Arabi, Rabi, Abi…

The lionesses followed her trail, the hyenas snapped at her heels, but she steadily passed through the partition between the two sides full of hyenas. Her head was high, and as hyenas gnashed she acknowledged them with a calm expression of cold disdain. All could feel her presence, that of the Queen. This dignified procession took her to the tyrant king until she was muzzle to muzzle close.  
Her mind was made up to talk to him plainly and calmly, without any emotion emerging in her voice.  
"Yes, Scar?"  
The darkening clouds drew over the lionesses and hyenas.  
Hushed, the lionesses watched Sarabi ascend Pride Rock and talk to the King. As their hunt had been unsuccessful they all wondered what would be said. Sarafina saw Sarabi shrink back from Scar – but in disgust rather than in defeat, and felt a tugging at her tail.

"Mom!" smiled Nala with glinting happy teeth, the Nala who had been to the Jungle to look for help, the Nala who had come back safe and well, "Mom, you will never guess who I found…". But then all the excitement surrounding Nala's return, not to mention questions about her disappearance during the hunt were cut short, and Nala did not get to let the others know whom she found in the Jungle. In a way, it was as Rafiki said – things will happen regardless. The two lions at the base of the Pride Rock peninsula once again drew attention to themselves as Sarabi loudly accused Scar of sending the Pride to its doom. But then, on his indifference, she said something that came as a clear instinct.

"If you were _half_ the King Mufasa was, you would – "  
And he struck her across her face with a force as furious as his anger.

In her defence, it seemed, the Heavens struck back with an explosion of thunder and lightening, which cast back shadows of the king and the fallen Queen against the wall of Pride Rock. Not one voice, but many called out Sarabi, in vain, drowned out entirely by the roar of the thunder. The lightening hit again, but this time, the blinding fork cast back a third shadow against the wall, and the roaring storm melted into a feral growl.

Full of fear and astonishment, everyone watched as a golden lion with a thick red mane descended towards Sarabi.

She felt a gentle nudge at the side of her face, and though it was an effort, her eyes opened to see who it was. And it was him, surely, the mane, the colour of his fur, the look in his eyes and the concern on his face. Had he come to save them all, to see her? Was this what Rafiki was talking about? How can the dead appear? She swallowed, and shakily whispered,

"Mufasa?"

Her head hurt and her vision was less than steady, but as she looked and saw that the lion was overcome with sadness at the mention of the name, she knew that she was wrong. But he knew her, and she knew him and then his mouth and eyes and eyebrows and whiskers moved just so, just as she had known and seen and loved, as he would run up to her to seek a nuzzle, or protection, or love…She didn't need to hear him say it, because she knew…All those years, and she knew.

"Simba…"

The King had returned.

Her son had returned.


	21. Fight

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine  
**A/N:** Still not over.

**Sarabi  
Chapter 21: Fight  
**

How strange it is, when you get used to the idea of living your life a certain way, even though at first you resented it and loathed it. When you accept the apparent truth and finally let go of the sadness in the heart, which, like a rock, constricts your chest, every breath, every second. When your dreams cease to fight, to reconstruct the past, and when your tears have been cried long ago. Oh, the mountain has been climbed, many times as high as the grand Kilimanjaro and there, at the top, there is a distant complacency.

But Simba had come back.

The feeling did not overwhelm her at that point; it was to come later. All she felt was her son's warm nose at her cheek by her ear, and slowly creeping in the veins around her face, the stinging pain from Scar's swipe. Scar, at this point, grew pale, for he imagined Mufasa had returned in his phantom glory to take Scar away – the stuff of his worst dreams, plaguing him throughout his reign. This lion, on a second, no, third glance, was thinner, and younger and…  
"Simba…" rippled the awestruck lionesses as lilies on the water.  
"Simba!" croaked Scar, and with that, the spell was broken.  
Events rolled out uncontrollably, just as Rafiki said. Before she knew what was happening, Sarabi found her son, who had come back from the dead and lost, saying, admitting, lying, surely lying?  
"I did it."  
What was going on? So many things, all happening at the same time. Sarafina blanched as Simba took uncertain steps away from Scar, and seemingly taking full blame for Mufasa's death.  
"My fault," he said, "But I am not a murderer!"

So confusing, games of words and teeth! The lightning struck, and Scar slithered around the hyenas forcing Simba back, back away from his mother and Nala. Sarabi wanted to run to him, but suddenly there were hyenas between her and Simba. Scar rolled "Murderer" from his poisoned tongue. Sarafina, now deathly pale, experienced a moment of clarity. The fragmented recollections of Scar's behaviour now fused together, and the realisation was that Simba was in grave danger, from this beast, this heartless monster of a lion, who was responsible for everything! Mufasa, her gentle, trusting cousin, played into his trap, and now Simba, edging towards a fall, was about to do the same. She could not find her voice, but Nala happened to glance at her mother.  
"Mommy!"  
Sarafina's eyes were wild, and she turned from Nala to Sarabi with a horror-stricken face, her mouth desperately twisted into a silent, pleading, warning grimace.  
Sarabi, illuminated by the sudden flash of lightning, understood everything that Sarafina had realised. At this point, Simba slipped and, it seemed, fell from Pride Rock.  
"Simba!" She cried, echoed by a younger voice, Nala's.  
Miraculously, the young lion scraped at the rock, and managed to hold on. His mane was blowing in the wind, his breath sharp, his claws dug into the surface, and she could hear it, Sarabi could pick up the scratching sound of claw on rock: he was slipping, inching back into the death from which he reappeared. The lionesses dared not breathe.  
It took so long – what was Scar up to? Of course he was capable of anything, and Sarafina finally whispered,  
"It is all his doing. All his doing!"

Pride Rock burned, the red light flaring aura-like behind the righteous King. And though everyone could see Scar lean in towards the young lion, claws in paws, not a soul knew what was coming up next. None could have known. With a ferocious shout from his innermost lungs, Simba leapt from his suspended position and pinned Scar to the ground, demanding a public confession from this villain who called himself an uncle, a brother, a king. Most of all, it was owed to the lioness with the dark fur, who, relived to see her son standing on four legs, looked coldly at the crumpled black-maned animal on the stone ground.

And Scar, simply, dryly and reluctantly said those words.

They confirmed everything that Sarafina had just understood, that Sarabi had just learned. They were short and raw on the ears,

"I killed Mufasa," said Scar, without any display of remorse.

She snapped, bared her teeth and lunged to kill.

The flames roared and crackled, devouring great trees in the fiery carnage that lapped at the feet of the Pride Rock. The red heat was intense, warming the stone beneath pink and black pawpads, and singeing the furs of those who moved too close. The thunder provided a battle drum, loud and deep, like the growls building up in the lionesses' throats, amplified by an infinity of times. Her mother's stories of the Old Ones, lions in the sky, it must have been their roar that shook the world. Blood smeared around noses like war paint. Claws buried deep in flesh, so crooked and smooth, to move the dogs out of the way and to throw them into the fire. Attack, destroy! And bite and bleed. Roars and thuds of falling feet. The fight grew and moulded into a battle, the hyenas were distracting Simba, Sarabi threw them from the jutting rock into the flames. There were many there, for under Scar's governance and food provision they thrived and multiplied. Like large vermin they infested Pride Rock, and they grew gluttonous and lazy. It made it easier to get rid of them.  
Her fight of course, was with Scar.  
She made her way towards him, as he tried to escape in the commotion.  
"Sarabi," he laughed nervously as she landed in front of his path, jumping down from a rock above. She was silent.  
"Sarabi, let me pass."  
But she would not.

"Do you really believe those things I said? Why, that is an impostor – Simba died! He plays the role well, preying on motherly feelings. You know Simba died, Sarabi! I played along with this lion, otherwise he would have killed me!"  
Still, she stood in his path.  
"Foolish lioness! Let me through, damn you!"  
She growled in her throat and unsheathed her claws.  
"Move or else I will – "  
"I will not let you through, Scar," she said finally, breaking him off, "You will not live to see the morning."  
Her grief and anger and disgust provided her with the strength and the boldness to pose a credible threat. Before Scar knew it, she launched herself at his throat. They tore at each other, but she remained always composed, accurate, quick and dangerous. Her jaw closed in around his neck.

"Do you want to do that, girl?"  
Scar threw her off heavily, and both lions looked up to see Rafiki.  
"Do you want to end it all like that?"  
Scar nervously glanced from the lioness to the mandrill and back again. He started to edge away into the darkness.  
"Stay right there, son of Uru!" commanded Rafiki, and Scar found his legs so heavy suddenly, spun into the ground like roots of a baobab tree. But Sarabi glared hungrily at Scar, and she pleaded with Rafiki.  
"Why do you stop me when I am so close? Why do you not let me have the revenge?"  
Now he rested a hand on her shoulder, standing beside her.  
"And what will you achieve, my dear? Your vengeance in his death? Pin his throat and suffocate him, but where did this power come from? The power to decide who will live and who will die?"  
"It's for Mufasa. For Simba. For all of us who suffered these years. For the loss of Nala's cubhood. And it's for me, Rafiki, for I have been broken and empty and cold for too long. I must. I must destroy him."  
"But my girl, there is not much left in him."  
The mandrill's wrinkled face was illuminated by the orange flames of the burning Pride Rock,  
"He will not see the morning, but it shall not be by your tooth and claw, Sarabi."  
Her jaw still ached from his hit, and she reluctantly accepted the advice of the monkey, smiling at this decision deep inside. But veils of pain and suffering, of fear, loneliness and repression swarmed around her mind like bees. She stared Scar in his soulless eyes, and struck the left side of his head with a loaded paw, which thudded as it landed on the intended target of flesh and fur and mane. He folded to the ground but did not fall over.  
"Get out of here."  
Scar did not say a word to her, but in his retreating glance she learned all she had to know. That he was mad for power, enraged with jealousy, bitter and conniving like a lemon snake, with venomous fangs of deceit and murder. Now he faced her, the Queen of justice. She was the persistent reminder of the lives he took away, and yet she lived, thrived under his reign. His time had ended, and she looked at his distant pawprints in the grass and dust.  
It was then that her eyes glittered with unshed tears in the war-lightning strike. Rafiki lay a warm hand on her nose,  
"The fight continues, ma'am."  
She blinked them away, and rushed back to the stench of burning hyena.

Sarabi did not see her son anywhere for a while; Nala had not seen him either. The lionesses, enraged by Scar's revelation, fought fiercely for their land, and for their new King. She felt it on her brow, the first drop of rain and stole a slice of the sky. More fell, intensifying. The fight was over, and they had won.  
Where was he?  
"Two lions ascended the Rock, my Queen," said Zazu at her side, "and either one or none will come back down."  
Her heart shrank in fear of a son that she may have to lose again.  
But then rains of relief cascaded over her body: wet, scratched, tired and limping, the red-maned lion found his steady way towards the Pride.  
"Mother," he whispered, and buried his nose in her neck.  
She moved away to let Nala step up, and this young lioness that Sarabi considered a daughter kissed her Simba gingerly, so glad to see him alive. The Queen almost felt her motherly instincts rise in a jealous tide, engulfing her throat and lungs, Nala was to have Simba and remove him from Sarabi's life. But anxiously, she chased those thoughts away, for the most important thing was that he was here, alive, and that he was happy.

The foaming waters dulled the fires to glowing embers, cats' eyes in the charred foliage and undergrowth. Skulls and bones, hyena bodies, burnt, wet, washed away.  
"Hey, Queen,"  
Sarabi turned to see a female hyena that she had long ago learned to recognise. Two young ones were at her side. Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded her head gently as a sign that she would hear out this damp dog.  
"Listen, about this whole thing. I'm sorry. I didn't know what we was getting into. Things were much better with Mufasa around, and I guess…" she looked then at her pups, "I guess I didn't know. What it feels like. For a mother. For a lover."  
"And now?" asked Sarabi, almost showing interest.  
"And now I know. Many died today. We'll go, the survivors. We'll get away from here."  
"Leave now before the King ascends," said the lioness, seemingly warning.  
The hyena barked and gathered a small sorry crowd of grey together. They yelped – some in pain, others for fear, but Shenzi shared a last look with the Queen, and off they went, to find new land, to raise their families. One hyena laughed in a way that did not make sense, but his was a lone voice among the weeping.

She roared for the Pride, for Mufasa, for her son, and for her life that night. And nobody could tell that she was finally letting go, opening out, because the long rain mingled with her tears.  
"They're here," breathed Dawn and watched the vapour form in the humid air, "The rains are finally here."


	22. Grown

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine  
**A/N: Still **not over!

**Sarabi  
Grown  
**

"Almost like the old times, huh, Sar?" asked Sarafina as she lay, stretched out on the warm new grass. It was bright green, short, springy and full of the sunshine that came from the late afternoon sky above her head. She wriggled on her back, paws folded up to the sun, and squinted in cubbish pleasure."Mmmm" said Sarabi, half dozing, on a grey slab beside her.  
"And don't you remember the birds? They'd come and tell us of the news in the other prides.  
"Mmmm," repeated the Queen."And Nala would come here in the afternoons, and I'd wash her fur as you two would go over hunting formations."  
"Mmmffina," murmured Sarabi, and raised an eyebrow of a closed eye to indicate indifference, "Sleep, Fina."  
"She doesn't come here much anymore."  
Sarabi opened her eyes at this. Through the past few moons, since Simba had taken the throne, since Nala had become his mate, the two young lions were very taken with each other. The two lionesses looked at each other for a time scarcely longer than a moment, but it was enough for them both to relive their lives from that day on which their cubs were born to this instant, when they were grown and about to have cubs of their own.  
"I'm leaving, Sarabi," said Sarafina, serious all of a sudden. She flipped to her side, and raised her eyes to her friend.  
"Where?" asked the brown lioness, now wide awake. She twitched her tail in anticipation.  
"To join him."  
Sarabi waited for an elaboration that she knew would not follow.  
"When?"  
"Today."  
Nobody spoke for a long time. They lay next to each other, enjoying their last company. They were old, and no more would they laugh at cloud shapes together. Sarafina had decided to leave this place of stale and starving memories, of the sadness which settled heavily on her delicate features, darkening them, depressing them. Her step was heavy, and her eyebrows furrowed. She had decided to rejoin the lion that she loved, to run free and by herself. She lived for the small daughter, who grew up long ago. Sarafina had made up her mind, and she left that very day, never to be seen again by the pride. The birds twittered about seeing a lion pair at first, but as the rogues moved ground, even these snippets of chatter ceased. Nala understood everything, and wished her parents the best. Sarabi saw the young Queen look into the setting sun one evening, and could tell that a part of the lioness also wished to chase the freedom, so that the air would hit her lungs, and the grass would tickle her paws, to feel the sun and moon on her back and to live without a care in the world. Nala's shoulders dipped lightly and she turned into the cave, swaying her growing stomach from side to side.

Simba had changed from the cub Sarabi knew. An odd, skinny lion, he was at times jumpy and nervous, at times still and relaxed as a lake. She wasn't sure what to make of his friends, the warthog and the meercat. They had looked after him, raised him. All those years that she should have been there with him, all those seasons gone, that he spent with his dinner rather than his own mother. It hurt her to see what she had missed. The little cub who wanted so much to have a mane and be a King now found himself in precisely such a position. Where was the child who longed for lullabies? Where was the kitten who would eagerly listen to stories of the Old Ones, of the Kings been and gone, of the tall giraffes, of the wise elephants? He, like Nala, did not need his mother anymore. Simba, she had said, before he was to go out to meet the cheetah ambassador, Simba, have you had eaten yet? What did he tell her other than he got up late, and did not have time, and that he did not want her mothering him when he was old enough to know himself. Nala had overheard this exchange of feelings, and sent a look of compassion to Sarabi, who felt disheartened and ashamed.

And what of herself? A fading shadow of the strong lioness, falling further and further behind the memory of her prime years. Hunting was becoming more difficult, for it took her more effort to stalk the prey, and the transition from crouching to chasing was less fast – she was giving up time to shift energy to her back legs, and this was costing her the kill. She was missing lunges more often, letting the prey slip away from her claws. Nala was now easily the better huntress, full of the vigour, precision, determination, qualities that transcended feline bodies, for they seemed to flow out of Sarabi and into Nala.

She lapped at the clean water at the waterhole, pondering over her reflection. Had her eyebrows thinned, or was that just her imagination?  
"Sar," she heard a voice call her.  
Her ear bent to the direction of the bearer. Let him speak again, for it almost sounded like…  
"Sarabi…"  
Eagerly, hopefully, she turned her head around. A paw. Another. Legs. A heavy mane, pale as the moon. Dark eyes that caught her soul. He had not changed one bit, not since she saw him last.  
She turned round completely now, to face him.  
"Dusk."  
An overwhelming sight of the lion she knew back in her days of the Princess of the Star Pride. Youth entered her limbs, and the two lions laughing, ran to each other. They collapsed together onto the new shoots in the protective shade of the cluster of trees. At first they did not speak – there was no need to speak.

Perhaps it was then that Sarabi had made up her mind, or perhaps it was decided long ago, before she ever became the Queen of the Pridelands. She would leave here, following Sarafina's boldness, and she would be with Dusk. He was ousted from his small pride by a stronger lion, his mate and daughters taken over. He limped for a while, until his limp landed him in an unfortunate situation with a buffalo. Parched and broken, he lay dying beneath the scorching sun, when it seemed to him a mandrill tended to his wounds. And after that mandrill was gone, Dusk heard from a flock of birds that the Pridelands Tyranny was over.

"I was so afraid for you. I wished I could go, do something. But the hyena spread its word around, and it was so terrifyingly real that no prides for miles around would even dare to consider conspiring against him."  
"I dared," said Sarabi, "Although I fear I dared too late. We lost our children – not to the teeth of the enemies, not to the sands of droughts, but to that cold and hungry Fear that robbed them of their childhood, and they were children no longer."  
"You did so much."  
She became quiet, pensive. She did not like to think of those times anymore. Thinking back to her reflection, Sarabi found her tongue casting Sarafina's bitter words,  
"We are old, Dusk."  
"There is life in us yet."  
"What life you have in you," she began quickly, "will you – "  
He waited for the words to form.  
"Will you – " she tried again, and licked her dark lips with a brown dry tongue,  
"Will you share it with me?"  
His face now slowly started to smile. She saw that one of his fangs had been broken.  
"What life there is in me, my huntress, I would gladly give for you."  
"We'll have none of that," she purred, laughing into his fur, "none of that…"  
"Mother!" said a voice that Sarabi knew too well, "What's going on here?"

"I was warned that there was an intruder…but it seems that you know this lion. At least," Simba added, under his breath, "At least, I hope you do."  
"Simba, this is Dusk. Dusk, my son Simba." A simple introduction to keep tempers down.  
"King Simba," came the correction.  
"My pleasure," said Dusk, determined to keep the young lion calm.  
"I'm afraid," said Simba, "I need to think before I can return the compliment. Mother – could you please explain?"  
Sarabi looked from Dusk to Simba, from her lover to her son, and back again.  
"I wish you didn't have to find out this way. I'm leaving the Pridelands."  
"You too?"  
"Dusk and I knew each other in the Star Pride. And it seems our paths have come together after forking out apart when we were young."  
Angry is the child whose parents forget them, and Simba, though grown and King, was still a child.  
"What? No, you can't leave."  
Tired now, Sarabi gazed at her son with sleepy eyes, but he did not seem to comprehend.  
"It's very nice," he selected the word carefully, "that you two have met each other to catch up, but I am afraid that….that…." he looked at Sarabi, "A word, please, mother?"  
It was with some reluctance and sadness that Sarabi cast a soft look at Dusk, and followed her fiery son to the rocks behind the trees. She watched him – he clawed at the bark with his back to her, and when he finally turned to face her she saw the lines and marks made by pain, she knew it too well, for it was none other than the poisonous betrayal, spread around his jaw, nose, eyes.

Uncomfortably, as though he was standing on muddy earth, Simba writhed and squirmed, until he could utter some words which were of an intelligible nature.  
"Mother, you seem to…know that lion."  
"I know him."  
"And how long have you known him?"  
"What does it matter, Simba?" she asked, tired of the interrogation. But it was the wrong answer, and the trees bent with fear, the flowers turned their heads away. Simba took a step back, and it was more threatening than if he had taken a step forward.  
"What does it matter? What does anything matter. You are my father's mate, and he died for you! He died, and he is dead, and you seem to know all these lions. He is dead, mother. Dead. He's –"  
"Shh," she said, and he listened.  
"Simba," she began, in the voice that woke memories inside him, in a gentle, cascading voice, like the warm winds of the east soft on your nose, or the flowing of the river on a hot, clear skied day. A voice that veiled his eyes in mist at night, when all cubs must go to sleep, and a voice that lifted that cover away when it was time to wake.  
"Simba, it's alright. I loved your father. I missed you both when you had gone away from my side. I love your father still," a shiver rolled over her back, "but Dusk, Simba, Dusk I know my whole life. We were growing up together in the Star Pride, Simba. Dusk is Dawn's brother, Dusk is my teacher, my friend, and I love him."  
"But…but how can that be?"  
Obstinate are the minds of the young, convinced that they know better than their elders. How can a lioness love two lions? Is this love different, and can it be ranked? For if she is to love both Mufasa and Dusk, choosing to live with Dusk raises her love of him above that of the other lion.  
"Simba," she coaxed, "One day I hope that you will understand me. I hope that I will understand you. But you have been by yourself so long that you cannot see what is what anymore."  
The look in his eyes regained its steeliness. "Mother, I cannot let you leave. We need you. I need you."  
That hurt most of all, because she knew that it was a lie.

What must she do now, she, a mother, a widow, a sister, a daughter, a huntress, a Queen, a Princess, a lover, a Lioness?

They walked a little way apart to return to Dusk, who was pacing to and fro under the trees where they left him.  
In the middle she found herself, between the two lions in her life, and the third pressing from above and below, soul and body. Simba glared at Dusk, who sought refuge in the ground.  
"I'm staying here," she said, echoing a decision from what seemed like a different life. This time though her voice was steady, her heart was afraid, and half of what she saw, be it the ground, the sky, Simba's legs or Dusk's paws, was blurred because of those tears that filled her eyes.


	23. Never Alone

A/N: Thank you so much for being so patient. Your reviews really mean so much to me. I am so glad that you like this story. We are almost there, the next chapter shall be the last.  
Disclaimer: Eet eez not mine!!

**Sarabi  
Chapter 23: Never Alone**

The lion pondered over many things, his paws crushing a line into the grass as he sulked to and fro. What was that nipping at his skin, buzzing like a shiny fat fly? It bit him again and again, though he chose to ignore it. It bore into his stomach, which seemed to sink so low it almost dragged on the ground. Conscience, the pleasant feeling. He saw many friends after he had talked with Sarabi and that Dusk, but their spirits were disappointed.  
"Your mother," said Zazu to him soon after the incident by the acacia trees, "Is an exemplary lioness. She has done so much for her own pride, for this pride, for me, for you, Sire…"  
Rafiki shook his old head at the King, and did not say anything much.  
Timon and Pumbaa did not bring it up, not to his face, at least, but he knew, as his guilt clamped down its jaws on his intestines, that they talked about it between each other, and that they disproved.  
He had not seen Nala yet. He wondered if she knew. The other lionesses, in particular Dawn and Eve, had let their condemnation settle on his mane in targeted looks of discontent.  
Sarabi herself was not there. She was saying goodbye to Dusk. Dusk, of course, would not be allowed to stay at Pride Rock, thought Simba. Grass and leaves can grow back quickly, but it would take a while for the prey to come back. His eyes came to rest on a zebra skull, caught tightly between two jagged rocks. It must have been overlooked when the other carcasses and bones were hauled to the sands. The young grass shoots had started to weave themselves in between the teeth and around the jaw. No, the prey would take its time, and they could not do with a fully grown adult lion being an extra mouth.  
Is that all there is to it, asked a curious voice in his head. Simba recognised it – it was the little cub who died in that stampede long ago. And another voice, of cloud and earth, chuckling, a memory so misty it was uncertain if he had just dreamed it up there and then:  
"There's more to being King than getting your way all the time…"  
"Agh," he growled sharply and angrily, flopping on his side in an exhausted and irritable heap. It was so strange, so confusing. Surely he was doing the right thing, and thinking about the benefits to the pride? Of course he wanted his mother's happiness, but she was an excellent huntress, she was needed. And not only that, he needed her. There were many times that he would wish for that touch, that kiss, the warmth of her breath on his nose, and the sparkle in her eyes. If only once, during his cubhood in the green jungles, would she appear and say that she loved him, oh! It would have made him the happiest cub in the world. But she was not there. She did not come.  
And now – to leave at a time like this!  
"Simba," said a voice, which was real, present, and with a twist of the ear the King located the direction. It was coming from above his head. An effort was required to squint his eyes open. Nala leaned into view,  
"Is it true?"  
"Is what true?"  
She let out a flat breath and sat down beside him. She needed to talk to him about Sarabi. Nala knew.  
"Why?" She asked, sad and disappointed.  
There were many reasons. They needed her to hunt. Dusk would be an additional burden, and an additional threat. In addition, she was abandoning her pride and her son.  
Nala knotted her eyebrows unprettily,  
"You're an additional fool!"  
Fool. Because Sarabi had stuck by them, kept them all together during the difficult times. She was the one to talk back to Scar, and also the one to calm him down. She hunted long hours and risked her life by helping the lionesses to eat, rather than merely rounding up hyena gobble. She remained with them, taught Nala to hunt and to think of better days. She had her heart ripped to shreds when Mufasa and Simba were taken from her.  
"Did you not think of this, ungrateful cub? You were having the time of your life out there with those two rejects, while your poor mother kept this whole thing going! You are lucky that we were alive when you came back, for I can vouch that I would be dead were it not for her!"  
Simba frowned and flipped to his feet,  
"Nice to know what you really think of my friends, Nal."  
She became calmer now,  
"Not like that, and you know I didn't mean it. But think of your mother."  
A mother who decides to leave a child, when she had already abandoned him in the jungle…A mother who forgets her husband and their love? And as these thoughts were formed into jumbled words that dribbled out of the lion's mouth, selfish and immature, Nala glared and hit out at the zebra's cranium with her hind leg, dislodging it from its nest.  
"Think some more," she sniffled, and strode off towards where, Simba assumed, the pride was to be found. Alone once more. He got up when she was far enough away as not to not see him, and, keeping his gaze to the grass, stalked off by himself, in some unknown direction.

It must have been hours, but he lost the track of time. Only when his tail shadow was beginning to reach the ground beneath his nose did he pause and glance back. The sky was ablaze, reds, purples, oranges swirling in a headspinning dance. He watched how the clouds hunted and killed, and how they bled.  
"Beautiful, is it not, King Simba?"  
And though he should have been wearier, this address caught him by surprise. Bathed in a darkened ruby light, Dusk dipped his head toward the young lion,  
"This is my time."  
"Where are you heading?" asked the yellow lion, nervously swallowing in his dry throat.  
"Away. But let us talk."  
Under the African sunset, two lions strode, pawsteps in unison, casting long shadows into the plains ahead.  
"You are a good son to your mother, a good mate to your Queen. I see it in you. But I see that you are not happy. I am leaving. Surely that is what you want?"  
Simba sighed, and a moth twirled on the rippling of the air.  
"I don't know what I want."  
Somehow, the dying clouds cleared his mind, and perhaps, just perhaps, he could think in a different way to his earlier efforts of the day. But the stretched silhouette that fell on the grass reminded him of another sunset, of a cub lost in the jungle. And then King Simba stopped and felt the prickling of a tear.  
"She was going to leave me. Leave to be with you. But I don't…I can't…I want…I want her to be here. I miss my mother."  
A breath. Then,  
"And what does that even say for my father anyway? Did he even exist for her? I mean…I mean he died, and Scar, my uncle, he killed him, but he said it was my fault, he said it was I who was responsible…and he said what would my mother think if she found out? Well did she even care? I ran, frightened and ashamed, the guilt…the fear of looking into her face, because I took away from her what she loved most. But did she care? Huh? If she loved you all this time, did she care at all?"  
Simba felt the compassionate look of the gentle lion rest on his hurt. Dusk maintained this, and when he was quite sure that Simba had spoken all, he began, as the evening quietly fell about them.  
"You've suffered, young King. Let me tell you now that there are shades of the in-between, in everything that you see. Look at this twilight. It is neither day nor night. Let me tell you that love is the day and the night and the in-between. Your mother loved your father dearly. And she loves him still, every day that he has been gone, and she will love him every tomorrow to come. Let me tell you that I love your mother, and yes, she loves me, with that same heart. But let me tell you that there was once a lion who loved a lioness, that he was made to leave her though he could hardly bear it. That he found another friend, that they started a family, a small pride of wanderers. Did he love his mate and child? Oh yes. But, ousted by two brother lions he lost them, King Simba, that lion is me. But there was not and there shall never be a day when I do not think of your mother. Nor will there be a day when I will forget the family I lost. That is love. Love is everything.  
Now let me tell you that Scar was a devious conniver. You know down inside, young King, that the death of your father was never your responsibility, and you should not be afraid to accept it. Feel it – the weight will rise from your back. Admit it to yourself. And know that you could never take away that which is most precious to your mother. You came back to her, Simba. It is you that she cherishes above all else in this world. Her son.  
And let me tell you, young lion, that she will gladly stay with you until she is permitted to stay – that is beyond our control. She wants your happiness. But we are not as young as we once were, and this, most important of all that I have told you, is that you will never be alone.  
But these are the ramblings of an aged lion, King Simba. I must be on my way. Farewell, and, please…send my love to your mother."  
A cool breath of the evening wind, and Simba imagined the pale lion whisper her name.  
"Wait!" he cried desperately, "Hold on!"  
He caught up with the lion, who was intently watching the King.  
"I will not forgive myself if I do not let you stay…or let her leave with you."  
The sun collapsed into the horizon as the lions fell back upon their recent steps.

Nala rested her head on Sarabi's paws.  
"He'll come around, Aunt Sarabi. He can just be so childish sometimes."  
"Sometimes I wish he were still a child", murmured the dark lioness, her golden eyes detached from the current moments of the world. Lost in a past that she never had, she tried to recreate images of what her life would have been like if Simba had not run away into the jungle. Every day that she lived by herself, the leader of her pride, darkened and suppressed under the madness of Scar, every morning and every night would have been made brighter by her golden cub. Each memory of Mufasa would take flesh in the eyes of her son. And she would have known that there was a true purpose to her existence. She would have taught him to hunt, to live. She would have been with him. But she could see his disgust now – that she had almost chosen Dusk over her own child, and she felt her selfish lungs breathe in unbearably sweet air. How could she?  
"Aunt Sarabi," said Nala thoughtfully, as she lifted her head to look at the lioness. It seemed Sarabi's jaw quivered, but it may have been a trick of the light,  
"Aunt Sarabi, you cannot blame yourself for how you feel. Simba will come around, and you will leave with Dusk. You must. It's so romantic. It's so…freeing…and….it's about time."  
"Nala," purred Sarabi, "Just like your mother…"  
"Have faith," added Nala quietly, and lay her head back down to rest. Her abdomen twitched as the cub inside stirred.

What was the life of this lioness from the pride where the stars shine in the open sky? A pride which lived in the open for as long as it had been formed. Ever since she was born, she was swept up in formalities and rules, institutions and responsibilities. She dealt with politics and trade, she hunted not to be the best but second to her mother, she was not the Princess but the sister to a Prince, she was not a daughter but a commodity for exchange. She had not lived a whole day where she decided what and how to do. The moments when she felt liberated were the snippets she shared with Dusk – sharing rabbits and gazelles, under the moon, in the rain. When she was atop Pride Rock with Mufasa, finally understanding that she loved him. When she had given birth to Simba and was licking him clean. And that was the last time she ever felt this way.  
"My Queen," said Zazu nodding to Nala, "My Lady," next, addressing Sarabi, and the two exchanged a smile that was a fleeting of a long ago, a shade of today.  
"Have you seen Simba," asked Nala, and in her question there was a tinge of regret and sadness, though she tried to keep her tone indifferent.  
"I am afraid not. I wish to apologise on his behalf."  
"There is no need," said Sarabi with a nod of her head, "Why don't you let the evening lie, Zazu? Fly to your nest, your chicks, your mate, your father. How is Major Zeek these days?"  
The change in conversation was perhaps more welcome to Sarabi than to the majordomo.  
"In the nest, my Lady. The arthritis has gotten through to the bones, twisting his wings. He cannot fly. Speaks of my mother often. I fear, well…perhaps I should not…but I…ladies, I should not trouble you with such insignificant events in the family nest of Zazu."  
She leaned in closer,  
"Courage, Zazu. Head on home. And perhaps you wish to speak with Rafiki? He may put some of your father's pain at ease."  
"Yes, Zazu," Nala agreed, "You ought to ask Rafiki. And take your leave now," she added, smiling, "by order of the Queen!"  
With a flap of his wings he flew, having expressed his gratitude to the lionesses. The air was still.

"Look," said Nala sleepily, "Look at the clouds. Can you see the hunt? There is a herd…the gnu. See, their backs are ridged. And there, an ambush. Can you see? This cloud that's stretched so, that is the lioness who will initiate the hunt. They're all in fan formation, the farthest wing is the darker colour, can you see? And over there…they've killed…and the antelope is bleeding all over the sky."  
"Yes," she replied, full of yearning to be so agile and fast just once more, "I see it."  
The hunts faded as the strip of the setting sun narrowed, until it was no longer visible.  
"The Sun-God lost his mane," Nala yawned.

Sarabi heard the paws fall before Dawn let out a gleeful cry,  
"My brother! And Simba! They have come back!"  
Nala scrambled to her feet in a tangle of legs and tails, but Sarabi lay patiently, though her heart gave a great leap.  
The King and Queen reunited, Simba traced Nala's jaw with his cheekbone, and, glancing behind to Dusk, advanced to Sarabi. He fell to his knees,  
"Mother," he began, "Mom…I'm so sorry…I love you so much!"  
Her mouth cracked into a pained smile as she saw her son with pride and admiration. He had grown up.  
"I was so stupid…to you. To everyone. How could I? Mom, after everything you've been through, I had no right…Could you ever…forgive me?"  
An intake of breath. An averted look to the side. Then, the thin smile widened, melted. Her eyes lit up, fireflies in the darkness, and she playfully swatted him on the nose,  
"Cub," she said, a low chuckle, "Don't be a fool."  
She stretched out her front leg, reached for his shoulders and brought him close in an embrace.  
But then they both got up, and Simba remained back to allow Dusk to come forward. As his mother stood by the pale lion, Simba saw how happy she was.  
"Hey," whispered Nala in his ear, "What made you change your mind? Don't tell me you were thinking over what I told you."  
"Not exactly," he smiled to her, "I met Dusk. He explained many things that I was just too stubborn to see."  
"Oh?"  
"That I was grieving. That I was afraid of being alone."  
She tugged his ear, her breath tickled him,  
"You fool of fools, Lion. While I am here, you are never alone."

"What will you do?"  
That was the question on the lips of many that night. But it was almost as though it did not need an answer. There stood Sarabi, Dusk, Eve and Dawn. They would leave to start a pride nearby, between the Star Pride and the Pridelands. In her mind, Sarabi looked back to the dreaded gorge where Mufasa lay cold and where Simba the cub perished in one awful nightmare. It still suffocated her. But with her eyes she looked at Simba, even as her body leaned against Dusk. Did he understand?  
That night, mother and son walked under the stars.  
"I wish things were different. With us. With dad."  
"I miss him," she said, because no one would call her lioness, no one would burn in her soul like the lion with the flaming eyes and the red mane. Because she could not call anybody lion, she could not empty her world into another and still feel complete, because he was her world. But she found a part of her that was a twilight, a part she thought she lost, blinded by Mufasa. And in that nightfall of herself, was Dusk.  
But the son that walked beside her was her own child, she saw in him her qualities, and the traits of Mufasa. Though Dusk was her peaceful evenings, though Mufasa was her world, Simba was everything.  
"I am not just leaving you, you know. I want to give you freedom. I want you to be yourself."  
"I know that now. I wish the same for you."  
"My son, there is nothing as dear to me as the lion I see before me."  
The Queen of the Pridelands of the past smiled fondly, her teeth glistened. Simba was here. He had Nala, and they would soon have a child of their own. She survived this, all of it, the loss of her world and her son, and she was rewarded. Right now, she desperately sought her quiet evenings. She was so tired…  
Her head leaned against his cheek and she said, so quietly, only for him,  
"You will never be alone."


	24. Forever

**A/N:** That's it folks! I (finally) finished this story! Thank you to all those who have taken their time to read it! It may be tweaked to edit for mistakes etc, but no more chapters. However, once I finish my exams for my degree, I will most likely write some more Lion King fanfiction.  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**Sarabi**  
**Chapter 24 - Epilogue - Forever**

How much time has passed? How much is still to come? Time chimes on, the endless galloping of hooves that will slow only with the end of the world, incessant since its beginning. But there were moments when it froze, for her, and there were memories which allowed her to look back over her life.

She was with Dusk now, and sometimes, she thought that no time had passed at all: it was as though they were reliving that evening when he had told her he had to leave Star Pride or fight King Storm – it was her birthday then, they had just filled their hungry stomachs with a young gazelle – and that she had convinced him to stay with her. That she had woken up to see him at her side. But that moment happened many years ago. Sarabi leaned into Dusk's side as the feeble rays of the rising sun gained their strength, and the sky was of a rosy hue.

The lands of the Star Pride were currently under the ruling of Sarabi's brother King Sky, ever gentle and ever wise. He had seen enough to understand that the rigid laws governing the Pride from his father's time had to change, and he was liked enough to be able to do so without opposition. Sky and his Queen had two cubs, daughters, adult lionesses now, and they would rule the lands after Sky's time would end. How long ago was it that Sarabi left those acacia gardens? When her father sent her and Eve and Dawn to the Pridelands, the leaves were yellow and sickly looking, the animal herds sparse and the lions hungry. Now the Star Pride had returned to its former status, King Sky made sure to treasure and cultivate the resources. He was widely regarded as a very successful king; birds spread snippets of his praise across the neighbouring lion prides.

Meanwhile in the Pridelands Simba and Nala had played their part in returning life to the Kingdom after the drought. Simba had taken back everything he had said against Dusk, and had offered the lion to stay. But Sarabi knew that her son and Nala were quite capable of looking after themselves. She and Dusk remained with the young lions until the heir to the Pridelands throne was born, and then they took their leave. Memories. She recalled her last days there very clearly.

"Must you go?" asked Simba, as he rested his head under her chin, "After all this time apart?"  
"Cub," Sarabi said, "You and I both know that this is the way that it must be."

He missed her when he needed her the most, when he was across the sandy dunes, and she missed him, trapped in a tyrannical regime. They were reconciled, but lost time was not made up – and how could it be? She licked his nose in a reassuring gesture. Perhaps – another life, another world, and there the mother and son would have never been separated. But this was merely wishful thinking. She had remained cold toward the meercat and warthog, despite herself, considering them to have replaced her role in Simba's life. To them she was grateful for his return – alive – that they had found him near death in the desert and raised him, for if not, and she shuddered, then things may have developed very differently. But she would feel sad seeing Simba with them because it reminded her that they knew her son better than she.

In Nala's pale coloured paws, a yellow cub nested, safe and warm, and Sarabi was inadvertently reminded of Simba's first morning. She let a sigh escape her chest and joined Dusk for their rest, apprehensive about their journey in the morning. A dream of Mufasa calmed her. There used to be so many dreams: some in which she lay beside him, and slowly the stomach-churning dread chilled her when his deathly coldness crept onto her skin. Or, she saw him atop Pride Rock silent as the dead. She'd call to him, but he would only look at her, and not make a sound. Not Simba, no dreams of him. He was never there. But this night, she felt Mufasa's presence though she could not see him. The sunrise saw a smiling lioness. She kissed Dusk awake,  
"Today we leave."  
Eve and Dawn joined them, never to abandon the Star Pride Princess. More goodbyes, oh so difficult.

Zazu bowed his head to the lionesses, and Sarabi bowed to him. They had both grown together in their new roles in the Pridelands, as the Queen and as the Majordomo. Together, they suffered under Scar. Zazu had become quite the expert advisor, having worked with four Kings. Major Zeek would have been proud, Sarabi acknowledged, and Zazu wiped at his eye with a feather.

A little to the side of the animals, Sarabi spotted Rafiki. He was looking at the commotion with a mischievous glance, leaning on his stick. She walked to him, sparing a few looks over her shoulder.  
"My Queen," he smiled, "How it has all unravelled."  
"You witch-doctor!" she chided, "Did you know all along?"  
He shrugged,  
"It is not for me to know."  
"I'm not a Queen," she corrected absently. Nala was.  
"No," explained Rafiki, "I said you were my Queen. You are, Sarabi. Extraordinary."  
He wrapped his long arms around the lioness's neck. She swallowed, touched.  
"Watch over them," she asked.  
His goodbye was a twinkle in his eye.

Simba nodded to his mother. Sarabi was so pleased to see how he had grown. And so happy for him, too, for Nala was a treasure. She wished them happiness. The lion let his mother comb his mane.

But Nala, the sweet, charming lioness, was distraught to see Sarabi go. She smiled, tear streaked fur glittering as it caught the light.  
"So much you have done for me," said Nala in a low, unsteady voice, "I could almost call you Mother."  
"And to me you are a daughter," murmured Sarabi, because when her son was lost that dreadful day, Nala remained as a living, growing memory. Together with Sarafina, Sarabi looked out for this child, and after Sarafina left the Pridelands, Nala remained close to Sarabi, especially as she needed advice about raising her first cub.  
"Sarabi," she widened her eyes, "How shall I cope without you?"  
The older lioness smiled, and flicked her ears,  
"Just you watch and see how things will sort themselves out."

That was some time ago. Now, settled by the river delta, Sarabi and Dusk's small pride made a comfortable home. The soil was fertile and a herd of impala grazed nearby. It was a haven. Tired legs could rest on the soft grass in the shade of a papaya tree. Endless skies ahead. Her son was with his family now and she knew that all would be alright with him. The birds carried news on their wings to reassure her. A mother, of course, never stops to worry for her children, no matter how old they grow. Being away from the Pridelands, however, liberated her from other motherly duties. She was no longer the hunting leader either - Dawn's daughter took over fast and strong.

But to be finally free, Sarabi thought as she gazed across the open plains, how wonderful it is. The air thrilled, vibrating. She shook her body to expel the age from her bones. Old or young, here or there? Dusk was further ahead, his eyes calling her.

"Mirage!" he urged.

A leap, and she joined him into the electrifying evening of thunderstorms and beating rain.

Forever.


End file.
